


Shatter The Walls For A New Sun

by whenidance



Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe - Religious, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-02
Updated: 2012-11-01
Packaged: 2017-11-15 12:18:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 53,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/527232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whenidance/pseuds/whenidance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU in which Blaine was raised by highly religious parents and escapes to NYC with Quinn, moving in next door to Rachel and Kurt. (Alternately: Bible!Blaine meets NYC!Kurt. Shit happens.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on Blaine's outfit in 'Call Me Maybe' from 4x01, and the very first line, which I cannot take credit for, as aelora said it to me about said outfit. I posted this on tumblr a few weeks ago, and then went on vacation for ten days and sketched the rest of this out.

“He’s kind of dressed like he should be outside my door with Bibles in hand asking if I want to be saved. I’d let him in to save me and teach me the word of God.” Kurt quirks an eyebrow to imply to Rachel that their new neighbor, who they are spying on through their large window, wouldn’t be the only one doing the saving and teaching. 

Rachel sighs dreamily and leans up against the windowsill, sipping her morning tea. If they were woken up early by noise on the stairs, the least they can do is admire the view.

“Do you think maybe he just saw The Book of Mormon too many times or something?” she inquires as they watch the young man in the tight white short sleeved shirt and even tighter maroon pants grab a suitcase from the battered sedan and set it on the sidewalk next to what they presume to be their other new neighbor, a petite girl with blonde and pink streaked hair in a sundress and giant sunglasses, who normally would be quite the topic of discussion as well, but she doesn’t have bulging biceps and tight clothes. “They look so lost! Well, him more so than her, but both of them seem pretty clueless.”

“Do you think we should go down and offer to help?” Kurt asks, finishing off his own tea, and Rachel gives his own outfit a once over. After a year at Vogue, his clothing choices are never less than impeccable, especially on his Saturdays off. Brocade pants might not be the best choice for assisting a move-in, but the off-white shirt he’s paired it with, rolled to the elbows, shows off his own shapely arms, and the cravat he chose for the day brings out the green in his eyes. “I could change,” he offers, and Rachel scoffs.

“And give them anything less than the Kurt Hummel best? Not for a first impression! Come on, I want to see those guns in person,” she teases, taking Kurt’s mug from his hands and walking them both to the sink. 

By the time they arrive outside, more bags and suitcases are unloaded from the car, the girl watching as the guy continues to unload the packed sedan. “Hello!” Rachel offers cheerfully as they both pause, turning to face her. “We’re in 3A, and I take it you’re moving into 3B? It’s the only vacant apartment in the building and we couldn’t help notice all the commotion and thought we’d come down to see if we could offer you any assistance.”

The guy’s eyes flicker back and forth from Rachel’s face to Kurt’s, looking concerned and hopping up the curb to join them next to his presumed roommate. “Oh, I hope Quinn and I weren’t being too loud! I know it’s early on a Saturday.” He locks eyes with Kurt as he says it, and he just looks so crestfallen, Kurt bites back the snarky comment he was going to make about beauty sleep. 

“Of course not! I’m Kurt Hummel, and this is Rachel Berry, and you already seem much more enjoyable than the previous tenants,” Kurt replies, offering his hand to the man standing in front of him, who wipes his hand on his thigh (tight, tight, oh god, why are his pants so tight?) before shaking it and doing the same for Rachel. 

“Low standards to live up to then? Sounds promising, B,” the girl says with a bright smile, offering her own hand to Kurt. “My trusty driver and heavy lifter here is Blaine Anderson and I’m Quinn Fabray, and normally, I’d hate to impose, but we drove almost straight through from California, and we’re kind of loopy.”

Kurt pauses to look at them both again more closely, hoping they at least stopped at a motel last night, because otherwise, it’s a _sin_ for both of them to look that put together and unwrinkled. “Oh my god! How long did that take you?” Rachel asks, and he sees her shocked expression out of the corner of his eye.

“Five days, so it was _not_ straight through, Q. We were only in Pennsylvania last night. We luckily were able to find couches to crash on along the way. We were worried there for a while we wouldn’t be able to.” The look Blaine gives Quinn is a practiced one of exasperation and annoyance, and Kurt wonders how long they’ve been friends. He bets anything she’s rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses. “And you all don’t have to help! I’m sure you have all kinds of things planned for this fine Saturday.”

“Nothing that would stand in the way of hospitality,” Kurt replies, and what is he saying? It’s late August in New York City - which means, it’s goddamn hot, okay? But perhaps if he gets to follow Blaine up the stairs each time (how had he not noticed his ass before in the pants?) …

Blaine tilts his head a little as if he’s unsure what to do with either of them, before nodding and telling them each to grab a bag since the car is mostly unloaded. “So, Quinn, Blaine, what brings you to our wonderful city?” Rachel asks with as much charm as possible once they’re back inside with the cool of the AC, trudging up the stairs, and at least Kurt won’t have to work out all week after this.

“I’m starting at Columbia in a few weeks,” Quinn says as they round the corner for the second set of stairs. “I actually got in last year, but - well, I ended up deferring a year and staying in California and working and saving up money, but it all worked out, because Blaine was able to come with me this year so I didn’t have to come alone.” She smiles warmly at him as they reach the third landing and he returns it, fishing in his pockets for the keys and unlocking the door to 3B, which proves to be an exact replica of Kurt and Rachel’s apartment. 

“And what about you, Blaine?” Kurt asks as they pile everything they brought up in one of the corners neatly, and he watches him fidget momentarily before facing him again.

“Ah - I don’t have that worked out yet exactly. It was a last minute decision coming, so.” He offers Kurt a small smile, but Kurt feels awful for asking, as if he’s asked something personal far too early, and quickly switches the subject.

“You know, Rachel and I were in the same exact boat a year ago,” he says quickly, glaring over at her, and thankfully, she catches on, nodding emphatically. “Rachel had gotten into the school of our dreams, NYADA, and I, unfortunately, had not, but I ended up coming to New York anyway with barely any plan, and now I have an internship at Vogue, which I love so much more than I ever would have loved NYADA, by the way.”

“He really does, he’s so amazing at it,” Rachel says, and Kurt’s not sure if she’s just turning up the praise for their newfound neighbors, but he’s touched. 

“So anyway, my point is - it’s New York! You’ll be fine.” He smiles back at Blaine, and Blaine’s smile becomes a little more genuine at his words. 

The NYADA comment brings up the fact that they all can sing, Blaine and Quinn both mentioning that they used to sing both in their school and church choirs (and okay, Kurt is starting to think his earlier suspicions may have been more spot on than he anticipated), so they keep the conversation light, talking about music tastes. Every once in a while Blaine throws out a name Kurt doesn’t recognize, and Quinn furtively whispers, “Blaine, they don’t know who that is,” and he moves the topic to someone more mainstream. Kurt tries to remember the names to google later, but it’s just so damn _hot_ , and honestly, his mind is more focused on other things. Like the way the cuff of Blaine’s shirt cuts across his arm when he lifts a suitcase off the floor.

Finally, everything is inside and it really didn’t take long at all with four people as opposed to just two - a sedan can only hold so much. Rachel suggests they move to 3A where they have cold bottles of water, and everyone shuffles into the apartment next door. “Are you guys going to go furniture shopping today? It’s still early!” Rachel asks, because everything they brought up was personal effects.

Blaine and Quinn exchange a look. “We’re going to wait for my student loan check to buy furniture. We have money saved, but we don’t want to run out. I have an air mattress to sleep on, and Blaine swears up and down he can sleep on the floor until he finds a job and can buy a futon to crash on, though we argued about it the whole way here.”

Kurt and Rachel’s expressions must show complete shock, because Blaine is quick to respond. “Hey, you said yourself it’s New York! I’m sure it won’t take long to find something, right?”

Kurt quickly finds his voice and changes the subject to what else they do need, because it doesn’t seem as if either of them have been to New York City before. They talk for a while longer, Kurt and Rachel sharing secrets about the neighborhood that they think Quinn and Blaine might find useful, before the pair finally excuses themselves to go unpack.

After they’re gone, Rachel says, “They seem delightful,” to which Kurt replies, “I think we should offer to let Blaine sleep on our couch.”

“ _What_?” she screeches in response. “Kurt, we barely know these people! And while they seem very nice, they seem to be _running from something_. What if they’re running from the mob? And we invite Blaine to sleep in our house?”

Kurt heaves a huge sigh. “Rachel, if Blaine was running from the mob, he wouldn’t be running _to_ New York. I just - I feel bad for him for some reason. I don’t know why. I can’t explain it. I think we should offer. He had to pass a background check to live here, you know.”

“This is worse than that time I wanted to bring home that kitten,” Rachel pouts, and she’s right, because he hadn’t let her win that one. He’s totally got this in the bag.

Ten minutes later, he’s knocking on 3B, hoping to not make a fool out of himself.

Thankfully, Blaine answers the door, because if Quinn had, he’d probably have tripped over his words. “Oh, hey Kurt. Is - is everything okay?” Blaine asks with a puzzled expression, because they’d been apart less than twenty minutes.

“Yeah. Of course! I just - Rachel and I were talking, and since you don’t have a place to sleep, if you wanted to sleep on our couch until you’re able to find work - I have accidentally slept on the hardwood floors here before after a long night out, and it’s awful on your back, let me tell you.” 

Blaine doesn’t laugh at his joke, just looks vaguely confused, and awesome. Things are just … awesome. “Or, you know, I’m just being a creepy neighbor, but! The offer is there if you want to take us up on it. Don’t feel like you’re imposing.”

“Kurt,” Blaine finally says, and his expression softens, looking truly touched. “You - you guys don’t have to do that.”

“I know. But, we’re offering. You can always see how tonight goes and let us know tomorrow, if that makes you feel better.”

“I think - I shouldn’t leave Quinn our first night here,” Blaine says, worrying his lip and glancing over his shoulder where she’s going through one of the bags, sitting on the floor crosslegged. “Can we buy you breakfast tomorrow morning as a thank you for today and I’ll let you know, though? Coffee and bagels? You have to show us the best bagel place around.”

“It’s a date,” Kurt says before catching himself, because oh god, he’s pretty sure Blaine isn’t even gay with all of the mixed signals he’s throwing. “I mean - that sounds perfect. Ten o’clock?”

Kurt’s pretty sure he sees Blaine’s eyes darken at the mention of a date; he’s also pretty sure he’s gone insane from heat exhaustion. They exchange goodbyes and Kurt heads back next door to actually get his day started far, far later than he intended, but not minding much at all.


	2. Chapter 2

Kurt wakes up early Sunday morning, going through his clothes to find the perfect thing to wear for coffee with Blaine and Quinn. He moves quietly as not to wake Rachel, though after living together in the loft for a year, they’ve grown accustomed to the open floor space and opposite schedules. He finally settles on one of his tried and true favorites just so he can jump in the shower before Rachel wakes and he has her to contest with. By the time he emerges, she’s brewing tea, knowing they’ll get coffee with their bagels, and he happily accepts a mug from her. 

“Thanks, and good morning,” he says with a smile, and she just smiles back, patting his arm in response and heading in the direction of the bathroom herself. 

There’s a knock on their door promptly at ten, and while Quinn looks bright eyed and well rested, Blaine looks a little bleary. They’re dressed in almost exact replicas of the outfits they wore yesterday, Quinn in another sunwashed sundress and Blaine in another short-sleeved shirt (tight), cotton-blend slacks (also tight, there is a god), and a skinny tie. “You look like you could use some coffee,” Kurt says in greeting, and then realizes, he doesn’t even know if Blaine and Quinn drink coffee, though Blaine did suggest it. “Well, if you both drink it that is.”

Quinn laughs, clear and bright, and shoves at Blaine’s shoulder. “I stick to tea, but I think Blaine would mainline it if he could.”

“Hey!” he protests, albeit a little belatedly. “I’m not that bad. I just have a few cups a day. I, um, need to pick up a coffee pot today, mine did not make the trip.”

“Luckily, there are plenty of places that sell coffee pots in Bushwick,” Kurt points out, before calling for Rachel, who teeters around the corner at the sound of her name. 

The bakery is just down the street and Kurt and Rachel go on and on about their menu, as they’ve tried almost everything on it at this point. Kurt splurges on a mocha and an asiago bagel, telling Rachel his order before getting out of line to secure them a booth in the corner of the crowded restaurant, the bakery already bustling for a mid-Sunday morning. 

“So, how was your first night in the new place?” Kurt hears Rachel ask as they head for the booth, Blaine balancing two bagels and two coffee cups in his hands. He offers one set to Kurt with a smile, which he gladly accepts.

“Good!” Quinn answers, sliding in across from Kurt, peeling back the paper wrapper on her plain bagel, already slathered with cream cheese. “We’re almost completely unpacked, though I guess we didn’t have much. We were able to leech off someone’s wifi downstairs until we can get our own set up next week, and I slept okay - I don’t think I can say the same for Blaine, though.” She shoots Blaine a sideways glance and Kurt and Rachel exchange one of their own over their coffee cups.

“You really should take us up on our offer of the couch, Blaine! It’s no trouble at all,” Rachel says, reaching over to pat his hand across the table. 

“Quick, we should get him to agree before his coffee has kicked in. I think that’ll be easier,” Kurt teases, his eyes twinkling as he winks at Quinn, and Blaine ducks his head bashfully, chuckling. 

“It probably wouldn’t be so bad if we hadn’t been sleeping on couches already for a week,” he mumbles, munching at his bagel, trying to ignore them all. “Okay, okay,” he relents, holding up his hands. “You sure you don’t mind me leaving you?” he softly asks Quinn, and she shakes her head.

“You’ll be right next door.” Quinn offers him a warm smile and wipes a tiny bit of cream cheese from the corner of his mouth. Blaine quickly grabs a napkin after that, and Kurt tries not to watch, but Blaine suddenly flustered is sort of endearing. 

“It really shouldn’t be too long,” Blaine says once he finds his voice again. “I talked to the music director at our old church last night, and he gave me some leads on jobs to look into this week, so hopefully one of them will pan out.” 

“Well, for your sake, I hope you find something soon, but it really is no rush.” Kurt locks eyes with Blaine for a moment, and he can tell how undeniably grateful he is.

It turns out in the midst of unpacking, Blaine and Quinn wandered around the neighborhood a bit last night, so they talk a bit about that, Kurt and Rachel answering the questions that pop up, like where the subway entrance is. Quinn mentions that she’s going to head into the city to walk around Columbia that afternoon and try to get her bearings, and Rachel is headed to NYADA for for an extra dance rehearsal with a few of her classmates. She doesn’t mind showing her the way, since the schools are fairly close. 

“That just leaves you and me,” Kurt quips with a grin, popping the last bite of his bagel in his mouth. “What do you have on the agenda aside from buying a new coffee maker?”

“Oh - nothing,” Blaine stutters, almost spilling his coffee cup in the process. “I’m sure you have lots planned for the day, you don’t have to -”

“ _Blaine_ ,” Kurt replies, laughing lightly. “I got all of my errands done yesterday afternoon. I have the whole day free. I can’t think of a better way to spend the day than getting to know the guy that’s going to be sleeping on my couch tonight.”

It’s Rachel and Quinn’s turn to exchange a look, and he knows the girls will probably be talking about them the whole way in on the J train. “Oh. Well, when you put it that way …”

They head back to the apartments so Rachel can grab her dance bag and Quinn her laptop case and Kurt is back over at 3B ten minutes later asking Blaine if he’s wearing comfortable shoes. Blaine glances down at his (stylish, if Kurt is being honest, worn in yet well cared for) black Oxfords and nods. “Yeah? Why, are you planning on taking me on a walking tour of New York or something?”

“ _Everything_ is a walking tour of New York, Blaine. You’ve never actually been here before, right?” Blaine shakes his head, and Kurt sticks his hand out, offering it to him (really, what is he _thinking_?). Blaine doesn’t seem to think it’s odd, just grins in response, placing his hand in Kurt’s. Kurt marvels in the weight of Blaine’s hand in his, how soft and strong it feels, opening his mouth before he can get caught up in his feelings too much. “Get ready to experience the greatest city in the world, Blaine Anderson.”

Kurt babbles a lot once they’re on the subway to break the ice, about Ohio and his dad and Carole and Finn and how he met Rachel and their years in glee club and McKinley. About how he ended up in New York and how he’s coming up on a year at Vogue and how his internship is a twelve month contract, though they can keep him for another six months as just an intern, and he really, really hopes it turns into a permanent job there. How he knows his boss, Isabelle loves him (at least, he thinks she does, one can never be entirely sure), but it’s not just up to her and he really hopes he doesn’t have to wait around until March only to find out they’re not keeping him. 

Blaine listens with rapt attention, and Kurt realizes entirely too late that he’s run his mouth their whole ride into the city. He tells Blaine this, feeling awful, to which Blaine replies, “Well, we have a return trip after all, don’t we?” 

He takes Blaine to Broadway first, delighting in the way his face lights up at the first marquee. “I always thought - maybe one day -” Blaine says, somewhat sadly, and Kurt’s face lights up then. 

“Blaine, maybe that’s what you could do here! You could try out for NYADA next semester! I bet Rachel could put in a word for you -” but Blaine is shaking his head.

“I’ve never even been in a school play,” he says, laughing somewhat sadly. “I’ve only watched performances on YouTube late at night with my headphones. I’ve never even seen a Broadway show, aside from the LA performance of Wicked. Quinn bought us tickets for my eighteenth birthday.” Kurt stares at Blaine blankly for a moment … the way he’s talking about watching Broadway performances sounds like the one time Kurt tried to watch porn, back when he was sixteen in his dad’s basement.

Kurt’s starting to wonder how religious Blaine’s family actually is.

He squeezes Blaine’s shoulder, figuring they should move on to Times Square. “Well, as someone wise once told me, dreams are always changing. That doesn’t mean we should stop having them.”

They head to Central Park after Times Square and sit on a bench to rest for a while, Kurt still enjoying watching Blaine take everything in. He wonders if he looked the same two years ago when he visited with the rest of New Directions and figures he probably did. He glances at Blaine, thinking about how New York City was always his plan and how Blaine mentioned it was a spur of the moment thing for him - he wonders what Blaine’s original plan was. He figures Blaine will tell him eventually. 

“How long have you known Quinn?” Kurt asks, breaking the silence, and Blaine snaps out of whatever’s going on in his head to glance over at him.

“Forever,” he answers with a chuckle. “She grew up down the street from me and our parents have always been good friends. We sort of grew apart in middle school, but these past few years have been rough for her - well, both of us, I guess, so, it’s been good having each other.”

“That’s good,” Kurt replies, deciding not to press for more. “As annoying as Rachel is sometimes - okay, _most of the time_ , she really is a good person to lean on. It’s good to have someone like that.”

Blaine opens up a little more after that, talking again about growing up in southern California, how he has two parents that mean well but never actually come across that way and an older brother, who he calls Coop, which has to be a nickname for something. He went to small, private schools his whole life and he takes a deep breath before uttering the next sentence. “I’m … I’m gay. It’s kind of why I’m here. I just thought you should know before I sleep on your couch, in case that changed things.”

Blaine stares at his Oxfords and starts to curl in on himself, and Kurt just wants to wrap him in a giant hug. “Blaine, I am too,” he says quickly, “and you don’t have to tell me everything about why you’re here right away. Rachel will just be happy to know you’re not going to murder us in our sleep.”

Blaine’s head pops up, expression changing from wide-eyed shock to full out confusion. “I’m just joking,” Kurt amends, laughing lightly and nudging Blaine’s shoulder with his own. “But … I don’t know. I thought maybe you were. That it might be why you were here, I mean. I didn’t want to assume, but yesterday, I can’t explain it, just the look in your face - it felt familiar. That’s why I wanted to help.”

Kurt looks up to find Blaine’s grateful smile smiling down at him again. “You’re a good person, Kurt.”

He scoffs in return. “I don’t know about that, but honestly, if you ever do want to talk, let me know.”

They keep their conversations light after that, talk of the city and places Blaine read about or saw on TV that he wants to visit over the coming weeks. Their conversation flows and never falters and Kurt is pleased to find out he quite enjoys the man underneath the body he shamelessly lusted over yesterday, even if his first assessment is proving fairly accurate. 

“I had a really good time today,” Blaine says as they make their way up the stairs to the apartments late in the afternoon after stopping at a store to pick up a coffee maker for apartment 3B, his head lolling to the side a bit. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Don’t mention it,” Kurt replies as they reach the landing. “Do you and Quinn have dinner plans?”

“We do, and I know you said it’s not a problem, but I really don’t want to monopolize _all_ of your time. What time do you guys have to wake up in the morning? Do you have to go to bed early?”

Kurt pulls out his phone where he has Rachel’s schedule for the semester built in for reference. “It looks like Rachel has to be on campus by nine, so she’ll leave a little before eight. I don’t have to be in quite as early since I’m staying late tomorrow - we’re shooting a video for the website, so Isabelle gave me some errands to run, the last of which being bringing in lunch for the group, so I don’t have to show up until about one. Rachel will probably start winding down around eleven?”

“I’ll come over around ten-thirty to crash your couch then. I’m sure it’ll be far more comfortable than the hardwood floor.” They say their goodbyes and Kurt tries to quiet the fluttering in his stomach.

The fluttering doesn’t go away when Blaine shows up at ten-thirty sharp, looking utterly adorable with damp hair in a plaid robe, complete with matching pajama pants, and a tight white shirt underneath, nor does it slow as Kurt tosses and turns late at night as he attempts to sleep, Blaine mere feet from him on the couch in the middle of the room.

Kurt suddenly regrets their open floor plan.

***

Since the following day is a rare day Kurt is allowed leeway to be lazy, he takes it, staying in bed until he hears the click of the door signaling Rachel’s departure. It probably doesn’t help matters that sleeping in the same room as Blaine didn’t afford him a good night’s rest. He stumbles to the bathroom, realizing belatedly he _really_ hadn’t thought this through - if you have a crush on someone, they shouldn’t see you after you first wake up before you’ve actually slept together. That should be a rule somewhere. 

Not that he really plans on sleeping with Blaine any time soon, he’s not a complete idiot. He’s fairly certain Blaine doesn’t even like him in that way, and even if he does, if Kurt had a hard time finding someone to date in Ohio, he could fathom a guess Blaine would have had an even harder time finding someone where he’s from. He pretty much screams inexperience from the rooftops. (Not that Kurt is one to judge. He’s only had two semi-serious boyfriends himself since arriving in New York and can count the rest of his sexual encounters on one hand.) Plus, there’s the point that _he just met the guy_. 

(Still. The fact remains.)

He glances towards the couch before sneaking into the bathroom, and it looks as if Blaine is still nestled under the covers, a mess of bedhead himself - and okay, why is everything Blaine does _adorable_? Kurt’s pretty sure his own hair looks like it’s trying to take over his face - and sure enough, one look in the mirror confirms it. He spends a few minutes in the bathroom making himself look presentable before heading back out into the kitchen to make coffee. If Blaine’s not already up, he’s positive that’s the way to wake him. 

Sure enough, a few minutes later, he sees Blaine pulling on his robe and heading like a zombie towards the scent of the freshly brewed goodness. “Back towards the couch, sleepyhead,” Kurt says, biting his lip so he doesn’t laugh when Blaine almost runs into the corner of one of the cabinets. “Cream and sugar?” Blaine nods before heading back towards his makeshift bed and Kurt fixes them two mugs.

Kurt sits down on the couch next to Blaine, folding his legs under himself and offering Blaine one of them. Blaine takes a huge sip, despite it still being scalding, and sighs happily. “Thanks,” he finally says with another sigh. “I’m not used to the time change yet. It’s not even five am at home.”

“Sorry -” Kurt starts to say with a wince, but Blaine shakes his head.

“No way, I’ve got to get used to it some time, right? And what better way to be woken up than with coffee hand delivered to you by … well, Kurt Hummel,” Blaine finishes lamely, and Kurt wonders what he meant to say instead, but lets it slide since Blaine is so exhausted. He thinks he can see Blaine’s cheeks blushing slightly, but he is downing hot coffee like it’s going out of style.

“Did you sleep okay?” Kurt asks instead, changing the subject. Blaine simply nods, drinking more coffee, and Kurt continues. “I’m just glad we had a couch to offer you. We only got it a few months ago. We used to just have a bunch of throw pillows to sit on - we didn’t want to break up the space, we used to say, but really, we were just cheap.”

They both share a laugh at Kurt’s comment, and Blaine says, “Well, I think the couch you did pick fits into your decor nicely, and it makes a pretty good bed too. Trust me, I’ve slept on like, five other couches this week.” 

They sip their coffee in silence for a bit, still trying to wake up, when Kurt finally asks, “What’s the agenda for today? Going to follow up on those leads?”

Blaine nods, getting up to refill his coffee mug. “Yeah, hopefully I can set interviews up with some of them. They’re aftercare programs at churches my music director had contacts at mostly, a few are ones looking for music director’s assistants, but since I don’t have a degree …” He trails off, stirring cream and sugar into his mug before returning to the couch. “I just want to make sure they’re the right fit for me too. I, uh, don’t want a job that’ll require me to become a member of their church when they find I don’t have an active membership anywhere. Quinn and I are sort of doing our own private worship until we can find a group of people whose beliefs align with ours.”

“Oh!” Kurt says, because he’s not quite sure how to respond to that. It’s not as if he has any suggestions and it’s the first time Blaine’s put anything regarding his faith out there aside from the random mention of a church. Kurt doesn’t want to act weird, because Blaine is his friend now, right? He knows Blaine needs friends right now, more than anything … even if said friends are atheist heathens who are probably going to hell in his mind. 

“You’re definitely right, an interview is just as much for you as it is for them. You don’t want to be stuck in a job you hate. You have a smartphone, right? In case you get lost?” he asks, changing the subject. “You should probably grab an actual map too, because sometimes there’s no cell reception.”

“I do, Coop transferred my number to his plan right before I moved, just in case my parents decided to drop me.” Blaine reaches for his overnight bag and pulls it out, swiping his fingers over the screen before asking nervously, “Can I - do you think I could get your number? Just in case I get really lost?”

“Blaine, of course,” Kurt replies, grinning and taking the phone from his hands to enter his number. He sends a text from Blaine’s phone to his before passing it back to him. “There, now I have yours too.” He busies himself with saving Blaine’s information to his phone when he looks up and sees Blaine holding the phone out in front of him.

“Smile!” Blaine says cheerfully, and oh _no_ , he is not being saved to Blaine’s phone with messed up hair before a _shower_ , for goodness’ sake. But Blaine seems serious, so he puts on his best smile anyway, and grabs the phone from him after. It’s not awful, but still …

“Really? I can’t just send you one to use where I’m not half asleep?” Kurt squeaks, and Blaine grabs the phone back.

“What are you talking about, you look adorable!” He grins and presumably sets it as Kurt’s default picture, and oh, two can play this game. Blaine hasn’t even looked in a mirror to see how his hair is curling up just so in the back of his head (and so what if Kurt thinks it’s utterly charming; he somehow thinks Blaine would disagree with him).

“Well, well, well, Blaine, if you’re going to insist, I think I do need a picture from you as well,” Kurt says, faux-sweetness dripping in his voice, waiting for Blaine to look up from his phone and grin widely before snapping his own shot. Blaine pulls the phone from his hands the second the picture saves, nodding in approval and handing it back to him. 

“I thought my hair would look way worse than that. Not bad.” Blaine fiddles with his phone a little more before getting up and getting his things together. “I should probably head back so you can get ready for work and I can get ready for the day myself. Thank you again for the couch and the coffee, I’ll bring your mug back tonight.”

“I think I should keep a running tally of how many times you thank me, Blaine Anderson,” Kurt says with a smirk, getting up to show him to the door.

“Just don’t ask me to give you a dollar every time I do. Unemployed, remember?” He grins at Kurt one more time before waving and heading next door, and Kurt closes the heavy wooden door behind him. He opens his phone to the photos section to glance at Blaine’s picture one last time before heading to the bathroom to get ready. His hair is _just_ mussed enough to make Kurt grin and Kurt wonders how his eyes can be sparkling so much through a grainy iPhone photo in the dim lighting of their loft.

Even if they insist on taking new photos later, Kurt will be hard pressed to change his, he thinks, unable to stop grinning even as shuts off his phone and makes his way to the bathroom.

***

The week continues, Kurt far less talkative in the mornings when he has to leave the apartment before eight am instead of just waking up then, but he still tries to allow for a few minutes of morning chat with Blaine, sending him on his way next door slightly caffeinated but still half asleep. Blaine shows up on Wednesday night with a pound of coffee to replace what he’s drank, and on Thursday morning, Kurt and Rachel’s schedules line up where they can ride the train into the city together.

“So. Blaine,” Rachel says as they collapse into the only two open seats they find as they fight their way through a car. “We’ve been busy and haven’t had much of a chance to talk about him without him overhearing.”

“What _about_ Blaine?” Kurt asks, flattening himself up against the window, shifting so he doesn’t wrinkle his outfit. “He’s been a fine houseguest in my opinion.”

“Of course he’s been!” Rachel says, sipping from her travel mug. “He’s very lovely, Quinn too. I’m glad they moved in next door. I think they’ll become good friends.”

Kurt stares at Rachel for a moment, knowing that she doesn’t just want to talk about what wonderful friends Blaine and Quinn are going to make. “Out with it. Get to your point.”

“Oh, _nothing_ , I just thought you’d like to know that I think he’s developed a little bit of a crush on you is all, in my honest opinion, of course. When you’re not looking, his eyes definitely linger on you longer than necessary, and -”

“Okay, stop!” Kurt says, a bit too loudly, a few of their fellow subway riders not engrossed in their music collections turning to glance at him disapprovingly. He offers them an apologetic smile before dropping his voice. “Blaine’s very cute and very nice, but he’s got a lot on his plate, okay, and I haven’t even known him a week, despite him sleeping on our couch for four nights, but honestly, the last thing he needs is all of this. You. And your … _meddling_.”

Rachel gasps loudly, affronted at his accusation. “I was just trying to help,” she pouts before returning to her travel mug of tea, muttering something else that Kurt can’t quite make out.

“Thank you. For wanting to help,” Kurt finally says, because she probably did mean well. “I just - what if he’s never met anyone else gay before? What if what you’re reading is merely fascination? No need to jump the gun, okay?”

“Kurt, you’re not giving yourself enough credit,” Rachel replies with a cluck of her tongue.

“Of course I am. I know I’m fabulous,” he retorts instantly, and she giggles at that. “I just realize he could maybe use a few weeks to adjust, okay?”

“Okay, okay. For your sake, because you are my friend and you asked, I will stay out of it.” Kurt smiles at her appreciatively, happy that he dodged that bullet early on.

***

New York Fashion Week starts the following week. Kurt is just an intern, so it doesn’t mean he actually gets to attend any of the shows or parties associated with it, no, but it does mean he’s at the Condé Nast building far, far later than normal formatting lists and blogs and vlogs with the information from the people who do get to attend to put up on the website. He barely sees Blaine, despite him still taking up permanent residence on the couch in 3A for eight to nine hours a night, though a few nights Blaine and Rachel decide to wait up for him, despite getting home after midnight, which Kurt finds utterly sweet.

The last show is on a Thursday afternoon, which means everyone is wrapping up their last pieces Friday morning (by Monday, anything relating to NYFW on the internet will be old news). Kurt is sitting at his desk, staring at his MacBook and counting down the hours until his precious, precious weekend that he so missed last week when Isabelle breezes by, telling him to cut out early, winking and shooing him with a file folder.

Kurt doesn’t have to be told twice, gathering his things and trying to figure out what he should do first with his two and a half days of freedom. He wishes hotel rooms in New York weren’t so expensive, because he could _really_ kill for a bathtub right now, something their spacious loft does not afford. He checks his phone to see a missed call and a voicemail from Blaine and grins without thinking.

_Hey Kurt! I know you’re at work and I don’t want to bother you, but I got some good news and wanted to share. I got one of the aftercare jobs I interviewed for! So I’ll be off your couch ASAP! It was one of the jobs I had a really good feeling about, I think it’ll be a good fit. I’m actually about to go out now shopping for a futon because Quinn finally sold the car and convinced me to split the cost with her, so as soon as they can deliver it, I’ll be out of your and Rachel’s hair. Hope your day is going well! Talk to you soon!_

He checks the timestamp on the call and sees Blaine only called an hour ago. He quickly calls Blaine back to see where he is. “Hi Blaine, it’s Kurt,” he says when Blaine picks up. “Congrats on the job!”

“Thanks!” Blaine says, and Kurt can practically hear the smile through his phone. “I hope I wasn’t bothering you at work -”

“No, I just got off, Isabelle actually let me go early. Where are you, exactly?” Kurt asks, because it sounds busy, so he’s certainly not at home, nor is he someplace buying a futon.

“I’m - I’m getting off the subway? It sounds really silly now, because I came into the city because I didn’t know any places in Bushwick to shop, but how in the world will I get a couch all the way back? So, now I’m here and I just - I have no idea what I’m doing.” Kurt tries not to laugh because Blaine sounds so defeated and he just landed himself a job that morning, there’s no room for that.

“Okay, here’s what’s going to happen, because I am literally just walking out of work now. I’m going to come find you and we’ll go to lunch, because I’m starving, and if you’ve already eaten you can at least tell me about this amazing new job of yours. Then we’ll go back to Bushwick and find you a futon a little closer to home, sound like a plan?” Kurt steps out of the building, slipping on his sunglasses and adjusting the strap on his satchel before walking out into the warm mid-September day. 

Blaine sighs in relief. “I’d like that,” he tells Kurt before trying to explain to him where he is. 

It’s nice to catch up with Blaine, hearing about his new job, which he just interviewed for on Wednesday. Blaine tells him a little bit about the other interviews he went on, and how he’d still like to find something a few mornings a week since the aftercare job is only thirty hours a week. He’s thinking about asking the bakery. He asks Kurt about Vogue, and Kurt tells him a few stories from the week, trying not to bore him with too many details, but Blaine seems to enjoy his tales, asking questions and laughing when appropriate and - it’s just all so _easy_. As if they’ve known each other far longer than three weeks, which shouldn’t even count considering Kurt’s spent the past week practically living at his internship. 

Kurt asks about Quinn on the train ride back, and Blaine says she’s enjoying her classes. She picked up a part-time job at one of the libraries, so she hasn’t been around much either. He’s able to fill him in about Rachel’s week as well, since they’ve had dinner a few nights, being the only ones around. “I didn’t mean to take over your life,” Blaine jokes as they step out of the subway station at Bushwick. “Stealing your friends, sleeping in your apartment. What’s next?”

Kurt just shrugs in response. “I don’t know. Before you know it, I might actually be dressing like you,” he says, the words slipping out of his mouth before he can think, and he sees Blaine’s expression fall a little at his words. Oh _shit_. “Blaine, it was just a joke. While your clothes wouldn’t look good on me, I happen to think they look amazing on _you_.”

“Yeah?” Blaine asks, smiling slightly, though he still doesn’t seem like he quite believes him, so Kurt reaches out for his hand.

“ _Definitely_ ,” and his voice keens a little high at that, which was totally unintentional and he can feel the blush rising in his cheeks. Blaine must notice too, because he glances bewilderedly at Kurt, so he clears his throat and drops Blaine’s hand. “I mean, I am Kurt Hummel, self-proclaimed fashionista and Vogue intern, would I ever steer you wrong? Come on, let’s go find you a couch.” 

They end up finding one at a store only a few blocks away and Kurt talks the salesman into delivering it with one of the other guys when they get off in a few hours for twenty bucks each. They head back to 3B to wait and Kurt realizes he hasn’t been back to the apartment after Quinn and Blaine unpacked. 

“Oh, wow,” Kurt says, because for all of the time Blaine’s spent in 3A over the past three weeks, it seems kind of foolish for him not to have seen how Blaine and Quinn have been making a home next door. There’s still a lot of empty space, sure, but there’s a tiny square table with four chairs pushed up near the kitchen area with Blaine’s laptop set up on top of it, and Quinn’s air mattress is made up like an actual bed with a dresser next to it, a lamp and a mirror on top. There are four mismatching bookcases pushed up against one wall, the bottom shelves filled with books - Kurt doesn’t inspect the titles too hard, but he does notice a few worn Bibles - the top shelves decorated with picture frames and a vase with brightly colored flowers in it. 

Kurt picks up one of the picture frames, a picture of a tiny Blaine and Quinn encased in it - they can’t be more than six or seven, dressed in their Sunday best, Quinn in a ruffly white dress with a matching hat and lace-trimmed socks and white patent leather shoes and Blaine in an almost exact replica of what he’s got on today, though far less tight, the tie much wider, and with penny loafers with brand new shiny pennies in them. 

“You two were adorable,” he says, setting down the frame, wanting to move on to the others, but Blaine comes up behind him and picks it up himself. He smiles and laughs a bit before walking towards the kitchen.

“I’m going to make some coffee. You’re probably exhausted. You don’t have to wait with me if you want to head home.” Blaine’s voice sounds different, and Kurt can’t tell if he actually wants him to go, or he’s actually ready to talk and is too afraid to ask. He takes the chance.

“Coffee actually sounds great,” Kurt says, sitting down at the table. He waits for Blaine to join him, wondering if he should say something else, but then Blaine is standing next to him, offering him a steaming mug.

“Quinn … she’s always been there for me,” Blaine starts as he sat down across from Kurt. “She was the first person I ever told I was gay. I told her October of my freshman year of high school. I don’t know why I told her, of all people, we really weren’t as close as we were when we were kids. She was a cheerleader and I was really into choir and we just grew apart, but … I just knew she wouldn’t judge me, like some people would. And then right after - she told me she was pregnant. She’d just found out, and hadn’t told anyone either, so we had each other’s secrets. She’d been seeing this guy from public school, her parents didn’t even know she was dating someone and she didn’t even know what she was going to do …”

Kurt’s eyes grow wider because he hadn’t seen that one coming. He takes a sip from his mug as to not interject and just let Blaine talk. “Her parents found out over Christmas break and wanted to send her to some farm in Iowa or something until she had the baby so no one would ever know, and she refused, so they kicked her out. She ended up living with Coop for the rest of the school year in LA, he had just sort of gotten started with his job and they found a really nice couple to place the baby with. She came back and her parents acted like nothing had ever happened, made up some excuse with the school like she’d gone on some ‘spiritual retreat’ with Coop’s ministry, but there were rumors, and all of her old friends talked about her behind her back, and she quit cheerleading and joined the choir with me, and looking back, it probably was not the year to decide to come out.” Blaine scrubs his face with his hands before taking a fortifying sip of coffee.

“So, it was you and Quinn versus the school,” Kurt offers, drinking from his own mug. 

“It wasn’t just us,” he amends, tracing patterns on the worn, wooden table with his fingertips, swooping lines back and forth. “We had a few other friends from choir, but the school was small, you know? There was this one kid, Andy, I honestly have no idea if he was gay or not, I don’t know if he even knew yet - but either way, I think he kind of looked up to me. I was the head of the choir my junior and senior years and he was a year below me. At the end of my junior year, we were out on the quad, and we were holding hands, because we were _praying_ , of all things, but this group of seniors thought, I don’t know, that we were being too gay for them, so they just … beat us up. It was too close to graduation and they weren’t going to not let them graduate, so they … all they did was suspend them for the rest of the year. I think they knew that too, like they’d been waiting all year to do it, they knew they couldn’t get kicked out … I don’t know. I don’t think the school administrators believed we were praying either. Andy didn’t come back the following year and Quinn graduated.”

“Oh, Blaine, that’s … awful,” Kurt says, reaching across the table for Blaine’s hand on instinct, not even thinking how different things are for him here, how that very act got him beat up in his old life back in California. He squeezes it tightly for comfort and he can see a faint smile curling on Blaine’s lips. 

“Quinn got into Columbia and she figured her parents would help her, but they refused since she wasn’t going to one of the California schools, so she took a year off to save money and moved to LA and my brother got her a job working for him answering phones.”

“Like a receptionist?” Kurt asks, bringing his coffee mug to his lips with his free hand.

Blaine’s mouth twists into an odd smile Kurt can’t place before continuing. “Sort of. It was expected that I go to Pinewood, since my grandfather and my dad and Coop all went there, it’s this Christian college out in California, so it’s the only place I applied, and I got in. I was going to major in music and hopefully become a music director at a church one day, because I’ve always had a great relationship with the music director at ours. Theo’s always been a mentor to me, and his sister is bi, so he’s always been someone I felt I could be honest and open with. I don’t think he’s going to last too much longer at our church, sadly.” Kurt watches Blaine get lost in his head a moment, and there’s another story there, but he doesn’t dwell on it and surges forward. 

“Anyway, my dad sits me down over spring break to tell me that Pinewood isn’t going to tolerate the gay stuff, so I better man up and pretend for four years. I didn’t know what to say, so when I got upstairs, I did some research, and they actually kick openly gay students out. It’s against their honor code. I don’t know why I didn’t look into this before I applied, I just thought - I obviously wasn’t.”

“So, you’re here instead.” Kurt tilts his head and smiles sadly and clasps his other hand on top of the two that are already joined together. “I have to say, I think this is a much better deal, though I’m probably being a bit selfish here.” He scrunches up his nose as he says it and Blaine laughs. 

“Quinn convinced me to come with her, even though I’m pretty sure my parents have disowned me, and I really, really, have no idea what I’m doing, which you’ve probably figured out by now and I think I sound like a broken record because I keep mentioning it. There will be a lesson at the end of it all, I’m sure.”

“See, that’s what I don’t get,” Kurt banters back, narrowing his eyes. “You people are always looking for the lesson in life. Sometimes life just sucks. Sometimes there’s nothing to learn from an experience other than the world is a cruel, cruel place.”

“Ah, but that itself is a lesson,” Blaine teases, eyes bright as he grins before turning serious. “I want you to know, Kurt, just because I believe in God and a lot of people who _do_ believe in God think I’m a horrible person for being gay, I don’t think that for a second. The God I believe in loves everyone no matter what and it frustrates me when people don’t realize that.”

“Well, good,” Kurt says quietly. “You’re a good person, Blaine, and it would make me very sad if you hated yourself, even a little bit.” They fall into a comfortable silence, Kurt noticing that Blaine’s free hand has ended up on top of his, all four of their hands in a pile in the middle of the kitchen table, each of them feeling far heavier than they should, the giant, spacious loft feeling suddenly small and warm, and the silence is shifting to something far less comfortable.

Blaine breaks contact first, clearing his throat and pulling back a hand to wrap around his coffee mug, taking a sip to further clear his voice as Kurt helps untangle the rest of their hands. “I’m really glad you and Rachel ended up being our neighbors, Kurt. You’ve been a good friend.” Blaine’s smile is soft, but genuine, though Kurt’s sure there’s not a disingenuous bone in his entire body. 

“I’m glad too, Blaine.” Who knew out of all of the eccentric people he’d meet in New York City, small-town Blaine Anderson from California would be the one to grab Kurt’s interest the most?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As I told a bunch of people last week, this is sort of my kind & sweet escape from fandom and WOW BOY is that going to be accurate as of late! The religion discussion that happens in this chapter is about as angsty as it's gonna get and about as deep into the religious stuff as I'll delve (aka - we're not done with it, that would be silly, but nothing will get heavier than what's here). Screw Tuesdays, I'm just gonna update this as fast as I can. Yay fluff? ♥

October is upon them before Kurt knows it, bringing a welcome chill in the air, and he hates to admit it, but he misses waking up to Blaine’s rumpled, sleepy self on the couch every morning. 

“Don’t think I don’t notice you still looking for him,” Rachel states, eating breakfast as Kurt passes to the bathroom. “Every morning you glance over at the couch and he’s been gone almost as long as he stayed with us.”

Kurt snaps his eyes forward, making a note to be more mindful of his wandering eye in the future.

It’s not like he doesn’t see Blaine anymore. They still see each other on the weekends or sometimes during the week when time permits, for coffee or dinner, usually with Quinn and Rachel tagging along, and sometimes if Kurt works late, he’s in the city long enough to catch the train back to Bushwick with Blaine after he gets off his job at the church. It’s nice to have someone to talk to, someone he feels instantly connected with aside from Rachel - he made friends with most of the other interns at Vogue, but all of them were in college and went back to wherever their studies took them in the spring or summer. He hasn’t latched onto the new crew yet.

He walks past Isabelle’s office one day and she calls him in. “So,” she says with a quirk of her eyebrows, waiting for him to sit down. “You seem awfully chipper lately. You must really like autumn with the extra spring in your step, because you’re reminding me very much of the Kurt Hummel I hired last year, all bright-eyed and full of hope … or is there just a new man in your life,” she asks conspiratorially, and oh god, has he really been that obvious?

“I - no! Well, _yes_ , but we’re just friends -”

“ _Just_ friends? Well, tell me all about this _friend_ of yours.”

So, Kurt tells Isabelle about Blaine and Quinn, keeping the story as brief as possible and when he’s done, she sighs happily and says, “Oh, Kurt, he’s even more clueless than you were when you first got here. Is there anything I can do to help?” She drums her fingertips atop her desk, deep in thought and Kurt tries not to panic, knowing he’ll shoot down whatever she comes up with. “I know! Does he need a makeover too like we did for Rachel? You could bring him here -”

“No,” Kurt answers quickly, thinking back to his comment about Blaine’s clothes, because just - _no_. His brain suddenly is drifting anyway though, to helping Blaine in and out of outfits, to making sure they fit _just so_ , and he really, really, cannot be thinking this way at work. “No, like I already told Rachel - I’ve got it all under control.”

“Really. Because what it sounds like to me is that you’ve known this guy for six weeks and no one is making a move.” Isabelle tilts her head and stares pointedly at him. 

“It’s … complicated,” Kurt replies, scrunching his face up. 

“You’re making it complicated, sweetie! _Life_ is complicated. It’s too short to wait for it to become uncomplicated.” She stares at him for a good long while, as if he’s actually going to break in front of her before sighing and shooing him off. “Don’t wait too long or I’ll start meddling again.”

Kurt walks out of the office as fast as possible.

He isn’t quite sure what is making him so cautious around Blaine. He’s gotten a few subtle hints that he thinks Blaine’s attracted to him, but Isabelle is right, they’ve just been dancing around each other, and Kurt’s not sure why. On the surface, they get along great. He’s not sure if he’s ever been able to talk to someone so easily, but underneath - he and Blaine are fundamentally very different people. He’s not sure if they would actually work in a relationship together, and it’s easier to just go along with Blaine as his friend conflict-free rather than open up the possibility of losing him over something more.

It’s safer this way. At least for now. 

The rest of the people in his life certainly can’t take the hint though, because a few weeks later, Kurt is out with Quinn, Rachel, and Blaine in the park near their apartments after a late lunch, sitting on a bench with Quinn as Rachel and Blaine run through the leaves on the ground like little kids, simply hyped up on espresso instead of sugar. 

“We certainly didn’t get to see the leaves change like this in southern California,” Quinn points out with a smile as she watches the pair, sipping her own chai latte. “He likes you, you know. Blaine.” Kurt must look utterly confused when his head snaps away from Rachel and Blaine towards her, because she chuckles and turns her head further towards him. “He doesn’t know what to do with that information, but he likes you. He’s been praying about it, mostly.”

And there it is, out in the open, the elephant in the room as to why this will probably never work. “Why doesn’t he just tell me?” Kurt asks, tearing his eyes away from Quinn and sipping his mocha. He watches the leaves flutter down from the tree above where Blaine and Rachel are standing, as Blaine reaches down to pick one out of her hair.

“Because he thinks he’s out of your league. He’s never done this before, Kurt,” Quinn explains, an amused tone to her voice. “That’s why I figured I’d help him out and clue you in.”

“Everyone sure does want to be helpful,” Kurt mutters, and Quinn must not hear him. Blaine and Rachel seem to be done with their leaf silliness, walking over to them, so Kurt whispers louder, “He does realize just a year ago, I was a clueless kid from Lima, Ohio. Deep down I still am.” He locks eyes with Quinn to drive home his point before turning back to Blaine and Rachel, fast approaching, and pretending like the conversation never happened. 

***

The following Saturday Kurt knows Quinn is working at the library in the afternoon and Rachel’s out with friends from NYADA (and he’s so proud she’s made actual friends other than Brody), so Kurt takes the opportunity to be the mature person in the situation and go talk to Blaine about what he’s worried about. If they have any chance moving forward, which he’s still not sure either of them are ready for, he’s got to get this out on the table. 

Kurt knocks on the door and takes a calming breath and realizes he should have texted before just showing up even though he just walked next door. Blaine opens the door with a wide grin anyway. “Kurt! To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Hey! Are you busy?” he asks, smiling back at him, and Blaine steps aside to let him in. 

“No, no, I was just reading, here, let me clean up so you can sit down.” There’s a coffee table in front of the futon now and Blaine moves his pencil and bIble to it, and _of course_ , how fitting, because this is Kurt’s life. It can’t get more ironic than this. 

“I - well, actually, that’s kind of what I was wondering if we could talk about,” Kurt says nervously as he sits down on the futon, his voice coming out much more high-pitched than he’d like. He _hates_ it when that happens.

“My … bible?” Blaine asks, obviously confused, his head rolling to the side of his neck. He settles on the couch himself, waiting for Kurt to continue. 

“Sort of, because sometimes … well, sometimes you make me nervous. If I’m being completely honest. And it’s not you, it’s me, and I thought maybe if I tried to explain some of that, it would help with all of that. I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’m not really into the whole god thing, oh -” Kurt pauses then, and takes a deep breath, because the next words out of his mouth were either going to be _hell_ or _god_ , or something equally offensive to Blaine, and he’s really been trying to watch himself around him regarding that. “I’m an atheist.”

“I know. Rachel told me.” Blaine’s mouth is twitching at the corners and he’s finding Kurt’s breakdown amusing, the _jerk_.

Kurt wants to smack him. He rolls his eyes instead for good measure. “ _Anyway_ , my point is, when I was sixteen, my dad had a heart attack. We didn’t think he was going to make it. I needed my friends to be there for me - they were all I had. I needed them to be a shoulder for me to cry on. I needed to know they would be there to help me figure shit out afterwards if he didn’t make it. All they wanted to do was pray with me, and then they all toldl me I was wrong when I didn’t want to let them.”

Blaine’s eyebrows jump up against his hairline. Kurt’s name falls from his lips, but Kurt just shakes his head because if he doesn’t finish now, he might not. “He pulled through and they just never really got it and I didn’t have the strength to explain. I really resented them for a long time because of it. And with you, we get along so well - I can’t remember the last time I hit it off with someone like this. I’m really happy for that, don’t get me wrong, but because of that experience, I just keep waiting for something like that to happen with you, and I was talking about Quinn about something else and I just realized - I don’t know, that I should tell you all of this, but now that I actually am, I just sound crazy.”

“You don’t sound crazy,” Blaine murmurs, reaching out to take Kurt’s hands in his comfortingly, palm to palm, and _oh god_ , how is he supposed to concentrate now?

“I do, it’s okay, you don’t have to lie to me,” Kurt replies with a sigh. “This is building a stronger friendship, right? Telling you my neuroses?” 

“Sure,” Blaine says with a laugh. “Maybe we’ll save mine for another time.” Kurt knows it’s his turn to talk, but Blaine is currently rubbing circles into his palms with his thumbs and he just can’t bring himself to. “Kurt, you know I would never do that, right? Force my beliefs on you?”

“Why not?” Kurt blurts out, not really meaning to. “I mean,” he tries to explain, because Blaine is looking at him oddly again. “You obviously think I’m wrong. My fundamental belief system is the complete opposite of yours. Doesn’t that drive you mad?”

“You obviously think I spend more time than I do thinking about this,” Blaine teases. “Kurt, I’ve always thought a person’s relationship with God is a deeply personal thing. My brother and I - we’ve gotten into some heated debates over it because we _really_ see things differently. Obviously you’re set in your beliefs and have been for some time. Anything I say or do isn’t going to change that and I wouldn’t want to try. Do I think that there are people out there who are lost and searching for something, waiting for me to share something with them? Sure, but I have to be looking for it, and they have to be open to it. It’s all about timing, and I think it’s a delicate balance, and I think a lot of people, like your friends, go about things the wrong way.”

Blaine heaves a sigh, letting go of Kurt’s hands and shifting over on the futon until their sides are pressed up flush against each other. “I spent all of my time at Christian schools and church growing up. All of my friends had the same upbringing as me and almost all of them turned their back on me the instant they found out I was gay. You and Rachel barely knew me, didn’t know a single thing about me, and offered me a place to sleep. You’re the first people I’ve formed lasting friendships with that were different from me and Quinn, but that doesn’t matter, not even a bit. I’ll never forget what you did for us. You’re a good person, Kurt, deep down, and that means more to me than anything else.”

“It helped you were actually able to communicate with us … the lady who lived here before you spoke maybe three words to us the whole time and just stared at us a lot.” Kurt glances over at Blaine. He’s not quite sure if _good person_ applies to him, he knows he can be petty and selfish and he’s nowhere near perfect, but when he’s around Blaine, well … he certainly wants to be one.

Isn’t that what the basis of a relationship should be? Being with someone who brings out the best in you, who makes you want to be a better person?

“So, that was a lot of information at once, and I don’t mean to change the subject, but what were you and Quinn talking about?” Blaine asks, and oh god, he _knows_.

Kurt swallows down his swears and closes his eyes briefly to try to figure out what to do. He still doesn’t want to rush things, even though they’ve moved past this, it still seems too soon. “I … I’d rather not say right now. Timing, right? You said it yourself, after all.”

Blaine ducks his head and laughs, and if he’s figured out for sure what he was talking about with Quinn, he never lets on. “Indeed. Timing.”

Kurt twists his mouth into a smile and pats his knee. “Come on. Let me buy you a latte for listening to my insanity. It’s the least I can do.”

They grab lattes and go for a walk in the gorgeous fall weather and maybe Kurt’s crazy, but the air feels different between them. As if the last wall built up between them has been broken and he feels completely relaxed and at ease around Blaine, even more so than before. They get caught up on stories from each other’s weeks, even though they text far more often during the week than Kurt would admit to anyone. It’s still nice to get the full in person details as opposed to the quick one and two liners they send each other. 

By the time they get back to the apartments, the sun is starting to sink low behind the trees and buildings. Blaine gets a text from Quinn, asking if he (and Kurt, once she finds out they’re together) would like to grab dinner, so they tell her they’ll meet her at 3B. Another quick text to Rachel loops her in on their plans as well. What they don’t expect to find when they make their way up the stairs is a different visitor standing between the two apartments, a tall man who looks familiar, but Kurt can’t place immediately, and he wracks his brain before he realizes that the man is there for Blaine, not him, and he must be mistaken.

“Coop!” Blaine calls out when they reach the landing, a confused expression on his face. “What - what are you doing here?”

The man - Coop - grins widely, turning to face them and pulling Blaine into a giant bear hug. “Blaine! Baby brother! I’m here meeting some people and shooting some stuff for work and I couldn’t _not_ stop by and see you. I would have texted but someone’s been ignoring me, so I figured, why not surprise you?”

“I - this is definitely a surprise,” Blaine admits, and Kurt can tell he’s completely shocked, and not entirely thrilled about it, if Kurt’s reading him correctly. “How do you even know where we live?”

“Quinn told me, silly. I had to know where to send her last check and when you weren’t talking to me - well, I had to check on you somehow. We’ve been in cahoots a little bit!” Coop lets go of Blaine and realizes Kurt is standing behind him, taking the whole scene in and turns towards him, flashing him another grin, this one directed straight at him and - _oh_. That’s when it all clicks for Kurt. That’s when he realizes where he knows Coop from. 

“And who is this? Since Blaine isn’t going to introduce us, I’m Cooper Anderson, Blaine’s older brother and religious TV personality, I’m sure Blaine’s told you all about me.” He shakes Kurt’s hand firmly, and if Kurt believed in hell, he’d so be going there. Preferably immediately. 

“Kurt Hummel, my roommate, Rachel, and I live next door to Blaine and Quinn, and ah, he’s told me a little bit, but I have seen your show a time or two before …” He can feel the blush start to rise on his cheeks and if he thought Blaine looked shocked when he saw Cooper standing on the landing, he really had no idea, because Blaine’s eyes look as if they’re going to bug out of his head. He’s going to have some explaining to do later.

Kurt first found out about Cooper’s nightly show, ‘The Power Within YOU,’ at a sleepover at Mercedes’ house back in their junior year. She’d been watching it, and offered to change the channel since she knew how Kurt felt about the whole Christian thing, but one look at Cooper’s charismatic smile and he told her she could finish up, at least until Rachel arrived. There was no doubt why the station had picked him. Cooper was charming enough to get thousands of homes to open their hearts (and pocketbooks) each night and call in with testimonials - at least, Kurt thought that’s how the show worked. He didn’t actually pay attention, he mainly stuck to objectifying Cooper. Cooper, who was undeniably gorgeous, always dressing in perfectly tailored suits and impeccably coiffed hair, Cooper who is somehow impossibly the brother of his neighbor-slash-friend-slash-crush.

It became almost a guilty pleasure a few weeks after that when he was flipping channels and found it again from the start (a catchy opening song, complete with somehow endearing pointing at every mention of ‘you’? Kurt was done for). It became a game, because Cooper’s expressions were so over the top - Kurt would watch the show on mute and make up dialogue for the night, having Cooper solve a crime or cue up musical numbers. A few times he got Rachel in on it too, which means whenever she arrives, he’s really not ever going to live this down.

(Come to think of it, since Kurt has fantasized about Cooper before - oh god, whether he believes in hell or not it doesn’t matter, he’s so going there - maybe this whole crush on Blaine _isn’t_ that far fetched, maybe he has some deep, hidden fantasy of corrupting deeply religious men or something. 

Or maybe he just has a thing for the Anderson men. Who both happen to be deeply religious. Yeah, he’ll stick to that.)

“Oh, really? It’s always nice to meet a fan! I have an eight-by-ten in my briefcase I can autograph for you …” And just like that, Kurt snaps out of the craziness in his head, staring at Cooper digging through his satchel, Sharpie between his teeth and Blaine looking on in disbelief.

He has to stop this. “Well - not exactly, I’m, ah, not of your faith. My friend from high school, Mercedes, used to watch your show and I caught it a few times, that’s all. It’s not necessary, really.” When Cooper doesn’t stop digging, Kurt glances over at Blaine to beg for help wordlessly. 

“Coop, Kurt’s an atheist, he’s not going to hang up a signed picture of you with a giant cross and the CNT logo in the background. He’s just too nice to say. Now come inside and get out of the hall, Quinn should be home soon …” Blaine winks at Kurt before slipping the key into the lock. Cooper just stands there dumbfounded and Kurt shrugs his shoulders in apology as he passes him into the apartment. 

Kurt lets Cooper and Blaine get caught up, which mainly consists of Cooper telling Blaine everything he’s missing back in LA. He does notice there’s no mention of their parents, Cooper keeping things light and happy, and Kurt understands why Blaine was apprehensive in the hallway - you definitely need a warning for Cooper. Just watching him talk is exhausting, and Kurt’s not involved in the conversation. He shoots off a text to Rachel to prepare her ( _You’ll never guess who Blaine’s brother is: Mr. The Power Within YOU. He’s sitting in 3B right now. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT._ ).

Cooper finally is getting around to asking about Blaine’s job at the church when there’s a knock on the door, signaling Rachel’s arrival. “I’ll get it, you two keep catching up,” Kurt says, bolting from his chair and leaving the two brothers on the futon, Blaine’s expression pained.

“Is it Mercedes?” he hears Cooper ask as he ushers Rachel in, to which Rachel scrunches up her face and asks, “Why is he asking if I’m Mercedes?”

“Because I explained that we saw his show when we were over at Mercedes’ house,” Kurt replies matter of factly before turning and saying louder, “Mercedes lives in LA. This is my roommate, Rachel, remember I mentioned her too?”

“Mr. Anderson, how lovely to meet you,” Rachel says, breezing in, and Kurt realizes Rachel most likely won’t say anything because she was objectifying Cooper right alongside him. “Yes, your show was entertaining enough to catch the eye of a Jew and an atheist for a bit, so, kudos to you.”

“Please, call me Cooper,” Cooper says, shaking her hand and tossing his hair back. “And, you know, obviously I take my calling as a man of the Lord very seriously, but I do consider myself a bit of an actor, so I hold your compliment in the highest regard.”

Rachel giggles and flips her own hair over her shoulder. “Well, I do know a thing or two about acting, I’m in my second year at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts.” Blaine and Kurt exchange a look - now neither one of them know what’s going on. 

“So, Blaine,” Kurt says, clearing his throat. “If you wanted to do dinner another time now that Cooper’s in town, I understand, Rachel and I could just grab something without you -”

“Am I crashing in on your plans?” Cooper asks, finally taking his eyes off of Rachel. “I almost told Quinn about my visit, but I wanted it to be a surprise for both of you.”

“The four of us were just going to grab dinner somewhere, but we could always reschedule -” Blaine starts to say, but Cooper cuts him off. 

“Even better! Let me take you all out. My treat. I can expense it to CNT and they’ll never know the difference.” He winks at Rachel charismatically and she giggles again and Kurt wonders if he actively flirts this much with everyone he meets. He can’t see this working on _women of the Lord_ … though maybe he just doesn’t know enough about those women. 

“Coop … you really don’t have to do that …” Blaine says, trailing off and shifting uncomfortably. Before he can say another word, the door opens again, Quinn waltzing through and spotting Cooper instantly, throwing her arms around him and squealing.

“You jerk, you had to make a huge entrance, didn’t you?” She kisses him on the cheek and they quickly fill her in on the new plan to go out with Cooper. Since the plan is to go someplace nicer than previously established (Cooper is suddenly engrossed in his phone, making calls to his assistant), Rachel states she’d like to head next door for a change of clothes and Kurt has to agree. He’s never one to turn down a lavish meal, even if it is at the expense of a horribly-religious TV network who probably spends a large portion of their budget trying to outlaw rights for people like him, or at least donating to politicians who do.

Actually, now that he thinks about it, that works out just fine for him.

He pulls out his Vivienne Westwood suit that he was able to snag as a gift from Isabelle, because it doesn’t get worn enough - he hates wearing it too often to Vogue, not just because he hates repeating anything more than once in a while at Vogue, but he’s an intern. As fabulous as he is, he can’t justify a full suit every day. Rachel changes into a shiny gold dress that Kurt doesn’t recognize and he wonders when she’s been shopping without him. She actually did well for herself, and he doesn’t hesitate to tell her so.

Kurt gets a text from Blaine that Cooper went back to his hotel room to change as well and he’ll be back around seven with a car and that they have reservations for seven-thirty. At six-fifty, Kurt and Rachel knock on 3B’s door, and Blaine opens it slowly. 

Kurt’s actually speechless. He’s never seen Blaine look so stunning. He’s in a navy suit that’s cut _perfectly_ and there’s slightly less gel in his hair tonight. Blaine’s eyes meet his, warm and searching, and Kurt’s mouth falls open, but his comments fall flat on his lips, and finally, Rachel squeezes between them, patting Blaine on the shoulder. “You look wonderful, Blaine! Cooper will be back soon?” Blaine nods and she pushes past him to go hug Quinn, who looks lovely herself in a burnt orange knit dress that just screams autumn, and then his attention is returned to Blaine.

“Wow,” Blaine finally says as Kurt makes his way inside. “Kurt - I wanted to say thank you for coming, I know Cooper can be a lot to deal with at once, especially if you don’t know him, and I know it’s not what we had planned at all, so thanks for being such a good sport.”

Kurt can tell how nervous Blaine is, so he throws caution to the wind and pulls him into a tight hug, which he can tell catches him off guard, but Blaine starts to relax in his arms almost immediately. “Blaine. You can’t help it if your family is crazy, okay? Just like you didn’t judge me for my crazy earlier, I’m not going to judge you for Cooper’s.” He gives him one last squeeze around his shoulders before letting him go, straightening out his suit where he wrinkled it (not just because he wanted to touch Blaine a bit more, not at all). 

Dinner with Cooper is really just listening to Cooper talk about himself for two hours. Luckily, Quinn has the patience of a saint and redirects him more than once when necessary (and Kurt begins to wonder how much of her job in LA was just _handling Cooper_ , because she really has a knack for this), but Kurt really can’t complain. He and Blaine are seated next to each other, in the corner with their backs up against the wall, so their chairs are sort of pushed up against each other, closer than he is to Rachel on his other side. Their thighs keep brushing and whenever Cooper goes off on a particularly long rant, he can feel Blaine tense, and he reaches over to put a hand comfortingly on Blaine’s knee. 

The first time he does it, he can see a grin start to form at the corners of Blaine’s mouth, and he places his own hand over Kurt’s. Kurt doesn’t listen to half of what Cooper has to say that night, but it’s still the best dinner he’s been to in a very long time. It has nothing to do with the quality of the food - which is exquisite, of course - and everything to do with who’s sitting right beside him.

***

Cooper’s in town for five days, so Kurt doesn’t see Blaine at all in the week following their night out. Blaine still sends him text messages about how he’s ready to ship his brother back to California and he’s coming back in a month for another weekend and how can Blaine conveniently be out of town during those dates?

That Friday Kurt’s stuck late at Vogue, though not late enough to really justify waiting for Blaine - Blaine gets off work at seven-fifteen usually, and it’s only just after six. Still, it takes him thirty minutes to get from where he is to where Blaine is and he sends Blaine a text telling him he’s in the Starbucks across the street from the church waiting for him. He tries not to think of how his glamourous New York life turned out to be waiting for boys in coffee shops. Not that this is dating, by any means, but none of his dating experiences in New York have been like this. He’s known Blaine just over two months - none of them even lasted that long. He never got to date in high school, but this sure feels like what it would have felt like. Only without the messy drama that went along with it.

Maybe that’s what he was looking for all along.

His thoughts are interrupted when he hears the jingle of the door and sees Blaine walking in. “You didn’t have to wait for me. I saw what time that text came through.” 

Kurt shrugs, taking a sip of his mocha. “It’s been a long day. It’s been a long week. I could use some company for the ride back.” Sure, it’s partially a fib, he knows Blaine probably needs company more than him, but no need to make him feel bad about it. 

Kurt waits in line with him while Blaine gets his coffee and he glances over at him oddly, to which Kurt finally asks, “What?” with a short laugh.

“I just - I like your bow tie.” It’s one of his older ones, chocolate plaid, but still, one of his favorites. “I always wanted to get a few, but, well, that wouldn’t have been okay.”

“Blaine!” Kurt squeals, stepping off to the side to let him order his latte and then pulling him along once he’s paid. “Blaine,” he repeats, this time a little more quietly. “If you want to wear bow ties … you should buy bow ties. I personally think you’d look adorable in them. We should go _right now_ , in fact. Do you have extra money you can spare this week?”

Blaine’s looking at him like he’s insane, but Blaine already went shopping without him once this month, when it started to get cooler because his wardrobe was willfully unprepared. It was only to H&M and he just bought multiples of the same cardigan and v-neck sweater in different colors, but still. It was the first time Blaine went shopping in New York and he went _without Kurt_. “I - well, I guess, Cooper did leave me a credit card for emergencies and he told me I should splurge on something every once in a while but I really didn’t think I would -”

“ _Blaine_. You had to put up with him for five days. It’s worth a few bow ties.” They stared at each other until the barista called out Blaine’s name, at which point, Blaine sighed, signaling to Kurt that he’d caved, and the instant they were out the Starbucks door, they were on their way to Barneys.

The men’s accessory department is pretty deserted for a Friday night and Blaine looks overwhelmed at the sheer amount of tie choices in front of them when they arrive. “Come here,” Kurt says softly, reaching for Blaine’s hand and dragging him to the bow tie section, where he’s spent numerous hours before. “Just - pick out one that speaks to you and I’ll help you put it on.”

Blaine runs his fingers over the silks, solids and plaids and patterns, his fingertips finally lingering over a classic plaid one comprised of greens and purples. It actually won’t look half bad with his white shirt and navy sweater that he’s wearing today. “This one?” Kurt asks as their eyes meet across the kiosk. He pulls it from the neat row and leads him to a mirror. 

Kurt loosens Blaine’s collar and luckily has tied enough bow ties he can tie one in his sleep, because he’s pretty sure he doesn’t exhale the whole entire time he’s standing behind Blaine. His fingers move deftly with the bow tie around his neck, trying not to tie it too tight, and when he’s done, he leans over Blaine’s shoulder to straighten the ends and can hear Blaine suck in a sharp breath. 

“There,” Kurt says, backing away so Blaine can look in the mirror without being distracted by him. “I think you made a pretty good choice there.”

“Yeah?” Blaine asks, leaning closer to the mirror to inspect it, pulling the ends of the bow tie himself, and then turning to face Kurt with possibly the biggest smile Kurt’s ever seen on his face. Kurt’s heart almost breaks on the spot because he helped make that happen. “I think so too.”

“Well, you can’t just get _one_ , pick out a few more!”

In the end, Blaine leaves with the plaid bow tie, a black and white checkerboard one, a solid navy one with pink stripes, and a red one with navy and white stripes. When they step out onto the street, Blaine’s shopping bag on his arm, he says to Kurt, “I’ve never … done something like that. Something just for myself. I mean, I came to New York, but that was something life-changing. That was something …”

“Frivolous?” Kurt offers, linking their free arms together as they walk towards the subway. “Sometimes that’s just as important as the life-changing things. I better stick around to make sure you do things like this more often. It’s good for your soul, trust me.”

Blaine laughs as they turn the corner onto East 60th and says, “I’m pretty sure _you’re_ good for my soul, Kurt.”

Kurt doesn’t know how to respond to that, feeling his cheeks start to flush but hoping Blaine can’t tell in the cool night air. He offers Blaine a fond smile instead of words, and they head to the subway in silence, letting the city say all of the things they want to, but can’t.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for broken bones. Look, you still got fic on Tuesday. Yay cheers!

“Have you booked your plane ticket back to Ohio for Thanksgiving yet? You’re running out of time!” Rachel asks one night over Chinese food. They both got home late and should already be in bed, but Kurt is starving. He doesn’t care what price he’ll have to pay for eating greasy food this late.

“No, I think I’m staying here this year. I’ll definitely go home for Christmas, but it’s too quick of a trip and Isabelle might be going into the office on Friday, so I might pop in for a few hours - I just really wish they’d hire me already,” Kurt says with a sigh, plopping down next to Rachel on the couch, his mind drifting back to the conversation he had with Isabelle two months ago - about how she really wanted to hire him, but it wasn’t in the budget yet and they were going to have to keep him on as an intern and hope that something came up in the next six months. (Which is complete and utter bullshit, in Kurt’s opinion. It’s _Vogue_. There are plenty of people there with nonsense titles. He’s not even sure what half the people in the dot-com department do, at least officially.)

“You sure it has nothing to do with the fact that Quinn and Blaine are staying in the city for the holiday? The fact that they’ll be all alone?” Rachel asks, narrowing her eyes over her rice and Kurt gasps.

“Of course not. I can’t believe you think I’d put something like a crush over professional integrity.” He stabs a piece of chicken with his chopstick - he’s known how to use chopsticks for years, but the urge feels good. Really good.

“So you _do_ like Blaine! I knew it!” Rachel squeals delightedly, clapping her own chopsticks together with her fingers.

“I thought that was already public knowledge. Where have you been?” Kurt mutters, throwing down the carton and picking up another. 

“You’ve never actually _said it_ before. Confirmation is progress.” They sit and eat in silence, Rachel finally saying, “Wait, so if you like Blaine and Blaine likes you, why aren’t the two of you actually together?”

It’s Kurt’s turn to side eye Rachel. “How do you know Blaine likes me?”

“He told me!” she says matter of factly, popping half a spring roll in her mouth, and god, they are hopeless, aren’t they? Utterly hopeless.

“What did he - no, wait, don’t tell me anything,” Kurt says, changing his mind at the last minute. Because Rachel will tell him _everything_ if he asks, and Blaine deserves some semblance of privacy. (See? That whole thing about wanting to be a better person when it comes to Blaine is ringing true.)

“Okay,” Rachel replies, regarding him thoughtfully before adding, “but he’s not going to make the first move. He’s really not. You’ll be waiting until 2025, or something before that happens. So, Kurt Hummel, what are _you_ going to do about it?”

“I don’t know,” he says finally, but at least he doesn’t have to be in a rush to figure it out.

He gets it in his head that he doesn’t just want to talk to Blaine - he wants to make some sort of gesture. Something … special. Memorable. The idea finally comes to him when he hears two of the Teen Vogue interns trying to sound cool and complaining about tourists over the coffee pot (which only the interns from Teen Vogue use - everyone else goes out for coffee). 

“Ugh, and like, it’s only going to get worse. They put the tree up in Rockefeller Center this morning. What an _eyesore_. It’ll be even busier when it gets lit.”

Blaine’s never experienced Christmas in New York before and Kurt knows his first Christmas away from home is going to be rough. Sure, a giant tree in the middle of New York City is a goddamn eyesore, but if it doesn’t scream too much in the way New York is exactly too much - well, he doesn’t know what does. 

He quickly sends Blaine a text. _Hey, I know it’s short notice, but I was wondering if you could come into the city early today and meet me for lunch? Something I want to show you!_

Kurt gets back a twelve-thirty with a question mark and a smiley face and then pops his head into Isabelle’s office to make sure it’s okay to take a full hour at that time. “Isabelle? Is it okay if I take lunch at twelve-thirty today? Blaine was going to meet me if that’s okay.”

“Is he your boyfriend yet?” she asks, not looking up from the screen of her tablet, and when he doesn’t answer, she sighs.

“Well, _no_ , but I was hoping to change that today. Or at least make serious progress.”

“Well, sweetie, in that case, take all the time you need,” she says with a wink, and Kurt texts Blaine back confirmation once he’s at his desk. 

Kurt tries to work, but instead, just worries about what he’s going to say to Blaine. He knows he should just speak from the heart - Blaine has listened to his crazy before, but he just doesn’t want to sound even crazier. 

He leaves his desk at twelve-twenty-five, stopping in the restroom on the way out to splash water on his face and fix his hair and take a few deep breaths. He can do this. Why is he having such a nervous breakdown? He is Kurt Hummel, for crying out loud.

Kurt finds Blaine waiting outside the building, leaning up against the wall and checking something on his phone. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” Kurt chastises, because he would have come down early.

“No, not at all,” Blaine says with a smile, pocketing his phone. “Where did you want to go for lunch?”

It’s Kurt’s turn to grin. “I figured we could just grab something off the street, because like I said, there’s something I really want to show you. We can walk, it’s just around the corner.” They start off down 42nd Street, turning onto 6th, and Kurt figures he should start talking before they get there. 

“I know Christmas means a lot to you and Quinn for obvious reasons, but it has a lot of meaning to me too, even if I don’t celebrate the religious aspects. It means being there for family and friends, and I know you and Quinn won’t have family this year, so I was hoping I could try and show you some things that make New York special around the holidays to make this feel a little more like home to you.”

Blaine stops in his tracks. “ _Kurt_ ,” he says, his voice thick with emotion. 

Kurt laughs and reaches out for his hand. “We only have an hour, Blaine, there’s no time to stop now.” They continue to walk down 6th Avenue hand in hand, Blaine’s a solid weight in his, and Kurt’s glad that the sun came out so he could leave his gloves at the office. They turn down 49th, and Kurt can see the top of the tree already, but Blaine doesn’t know what he’s looking for, so he doesn’t spot it, and Kurt keeps them across the street where they have a good vantage point for looking away from tourists at first.

“Is that … real?” Blaine asks when he finally does catch a glimpse of it, and Kurt pulls them out of the way of moving foot traffic to gawk. 

“Yep. They light it every year the week after Thanksgiving but it takes them forever to get it ready. I thought it would make you smile today.” Kurt glances over at Blaine’s awestruck face and can’t help grinning. He really could care less about the tree, but he knew Blaine would get a kick out of it, and that’s why he wanted to come. He hopes he can explain some of that to Blaine when they’re closer to the tree. About how Blaine makes him feel things like that - things he’s never felt with someone else before.

“It’s the biggest Christmas tree I’ve ever seen.”

“Do you want to get a better look?” Kurt asks, stepping away from their safe space without thinking and out into the sidewalk, where he’s sideswiped by a messenger bicycle. Both tires run completely over his left set of toes and he _hears_ something crunch; whether it’s the leather of his loafer or the actual bones of his toes, he’s unsure. He’s frozen to the spot, and his face must look pained because Blaine rushes to his side.

“Kurt - are you okay, oh, oh, that guy, he just _ran over your foot_!” Blaine blurts out, brow furrowing with worry, and Kurt tries to bear weight on his foot, crying out a litany of swears instead of telling Blaine he knows, he was there like he intended. 

“Blaine - Blaine, honey, get a cab, I think something’s broken,” Kurt says through gritted teeth, gripping onto Blaine’s shoulder for support, and he’s looking at him horrified, probably because Kurt just told him something is broken and, Kurt just realizes, Blaine’s never hailed a cab before in his life. “Okay, get me to the corner and I’ll help you.”

Thankfully, some kind soul takes pity on them and flags down a cab and even knows there’s a hospital over in Lenox Hill, which is enough to get the cab driver going and Blaine searching for the exact address on his phone. Kurt’s never broken anything before, so he really has no clue if he has (he stuck to tea parties as a kid, not climbing things, okay?), but the pain is growing intense, and he’s laying across the bench of the cab trying to elevate his foot in Blaine’s lap. He quickly pulls out his own cell phone to call Isabelle. “Kurt,” she purrs when she answers. “Do you need more time with loverboy? I can give you another half an hour!”

“No, some asshole on a bike ran over my foot across the street from Rockefeller Center and I think I broke my foot - oh god, Blaine, pull off my shoe before my foot swells too much, I’m not letting them cut Ferragamo off of me at the ER, ah, fuck, _fuck_ , thanks - sorry, I - I have no idea if I’ll be back today.”

“Oh my god, honey, those messengers are complete jerks with no concern for other people, I’m so sorry! You take care of yourself. Take tomorrow too and rest all weekend, we’ll see you Monday, okay?”

Luckily, they don’t have to wait long at the ER, and it turns out his second and third toe are both broken and displaced, and he’s really, really glad Blaine decided to call into work today. “Like I would leave you here alone,” Blaine scoffed when he stepped outside to call the church back in the waiting room. Despite the numbing shot they give him before resetting his toes and the pain pill, he still feels like he’s going to throw up when it happens, and he appreciates having Blaine’s hand to squeeze onto. Blaine laughs at the face he gives the nurse when she’s discharging him, telling him to wear shoes with good traction but soft uppers, like tennis shoes, as much as possible for the next six weeks.

Like Kurt Hummel owns things such as _tennis shoes_. Like he would show up at work wearing such things if he did.

Blaine takes Kurt’s prescriptions and discharge papers and puts them in his bag, realizing a bit belatedly that all of Kurt’s things aside from his cell phone are back at work. They give him crutches, which Kurt can’t really get the hang of, and he thinks they just gave him so they could bill his insurance. He saw the lady’s face at reception when she ran his insurance card. Plus, it’s a much better idea to hang onto Blaine, arm looped around his waist tightly so he doesn’t fall. 

They take a cab to the nearest J, and Kurt is thankful they’ve found a semi-deserted car so he can elevate his foot on the seat across from them. He drifts off a bit with the jostling of the train, because whatever they gave him made him quite sleepy and Blaine’s cologne smells so good and his chest is so warm. His hands grip Blaine’s coat like a vice to anchor him, and if Blaine’s uncomfortable, he never says, his left arm looping around Kurt’s back, fingers splayed wide to keep him close.

They wait for his pills at the pharmacy once they’re in Bushwick - two more heavy duty pain pills for tonight and then extra strength Motrin for the next few weeks - and they pick up gauze and tape and ice packs Kurt’s really glad Blaine remembered everything. He was listening but he’s sure he’d forget something and have to come back later. They head back to Blaine’s apartment, since Kurt doesn’t have his keys, and Blaine sets him up in his bed, pillows under his foot with an ice pack on top, from Blaine and Quinn’s freezer while the new ones set up. Blaine pulls open his laptop and orders them pizza, since they never even did get to eat lunch.

He didn’t realize Blaine actually had a bed now, as opposed to just the futon. He’s laying in Blaine Anderson’s bed, he thinks to himself, giggling, and Blaine shoots him an amused look from behind his laptop at the kitchen table. “You okay over there?”

“Yeah, I’m just going to … call my dad and let him know I’m okay,” he decides, because he’s got to get a handle on himself and he really should let him know what happened. “Dad!” he says when Burt answers his cell phone. It’s Thursday, late afternoon, so he’s not really sure where he is - but he assumes somewhere in DC. “I don’t want you to panic, because I’m okay, but I broke two of my toes.”

“You … _what_? Hang on, lemme sit down … how’d that happen?” Kurt can hear papers rustling in the background.

“Some guy ran me over with his bike, but I’m okay, promise, Blaine is with me, remember Blaine? I told you about Blaine. He took me to the ER and they fixed me up.”

“The super religious kid that lives next door?” Kurt can hear the smile in his voice. He loves his dad’s smile. It’s one of the things he misses most when he’s in New York.

“That’s the one! And my keys are at Vogue so I’m at his apartment waiting for Rachel to get home. And he has me in bed with my foot propped up and ice so he’s taking good care of me.”

“That’s … that’s good.” He can tell his dad is still smiling at him; he might even be laughing. “Do you think I could talk to him? And we’ll talk tomorrow?”

They exchange goodbyes and I love yous before Kurt calls Blaine over and hands him the phone. “My dad wants to talk to you,” he whispers furtively, and he sees Blaine gulp before clearing his throat and saying, “Hi, Mr. Hummel,” into Kurt’s phone. Blaine sits on the edge of the bed and tells Burt the full story of what happened and what the doctors and nurses at the ER said (and okay, he sees why Blaine was asked for, so many details he can’t be bothered with right now), and he feels good, not just from the pain medication that’s currently in his system. He feels warm and safe here with Blaine and he’s not sure what he would have done if he’d been alone or, oh god, worse with _Rachel_ earlier. He wishes Blaine would lie down with him and cuddle, because Blaine was so cuddly on the train, but he has enough sense to know he shouldn’t say that out loud.

Their pizza arrives shortly after Blaine gets off the phone, and Kurt eats and takes more pills, and sleeps, because Blaine’s bed is so cozy and smells like _him_ , and if he can’t cuddle with Blaine, his pillow is the next best thing. At some point, Quinn comes home because he wakes up to her sitting beside him and patting his arm comfortingly. “You poor, poor thing,” she says, dropping a kiss to his temple, before leaving him to sleep some more and talk to Blaine. 

Rachel finally arrives, coming straight to 3B after school (Blaine must have texted her), and he sits up when all three of them are standing around the bed. “How did this happen to me out of everyone standing in this room?” he grumbles and they laugh at him. Probably with him, but his pills are starting to wear off and he’s just _uncomfortable and irritable_ and it’s been such a long day, and wow, his mood changed fairly quickly. He wonders how long he’s been out.

“Come on,” Blaine says, helping him maneuver so he’s sitting on the side of the bed. He holds out a pill and a glass of water. “You have one last happy pill left, take it and move to the couch and eat some more pizza. You slept for hours, you’re probably stiff and just need to get up and move.”

Kurt shakes his head to rid it of the thought of stiff body parts in Blaine’s bed and gulps the pill down, letting Blaine help him to the couch. Rachel gives him a giant hug before he’s allowed to sit down and she munches on a slice as well as Blaine tells the tale for hopefully the last time. 

As Blaine talks about the stupid Christmas tree, it’s really setting in for Kurt how horribly wrong the whole day went; how he didn’t get to tell Blaine a single thing he wanted to, and how he feels like a complete and utter idiot. Suddenly, Kurt wants nothing more than to go next door and curl up in his own bed and talk to Rachel about everything, about the rest of the story that Blaine isn’t going to tell her.

Rachel can sense it, bless her, because she looks over at him and asks, “You okay?” She takes his empty plate from him, setting it on the coffee table.

“Yeah, I’m just exhausted and think I want to go next door and change out of these clothes and go to bed for real.” He offers them all a small smile and Blaine offers to help him, Rachel gathering his pills and paperwork and crutches from the hospital. Blaine waits while he changes in the bathroom and when he comes out, Blaine and Rachel are whispering furtively but he can’t really be bothered with what they’re talking about. 

Blaine helps him into bed and squeezes his hand before he goes. “Feel better, Kurt.” He watches as Blaine walks to the door, and Rachel walks over, a sad smile on her lips.

“Are you okay? Seriously?”

“Yeah.” He pauses a minute, slipping his eyes shut and letting Blaine leave first. “I just - I wanted to kiss him. I wanted it to be perfect and it was such a mess instead.”

“Oh - give me a minute,” he hears her reply, and she’s far away, and the door clicks open -

Great. Blaine hasn’t left yet. Kurt wants to _die_.

Or, alternately, fall into a deep, drug-induced sleep, which is the closest solution he has.

***

Kurt doesn’t mean to avoid Blaine over the next few days.

Okay, he kind of does. But really, he doesn’t have to try very hard to do it.

Friday he stays in bed most of the day, catching up on bad TV on his laptop and calling his dad back and catching _him_ up until Rachel gets home. Saturday they trek into the city to see how his commute might go and she helps him go shopping for shoes. The only shoes that he’s able to squeeze his swollen foot into comfortably are his McQueen velvet loafers and he is _not_ going to ruin them by overuse, especially when the snow might start up any minute. He tries to get used to the crutches and mostly just gets frustrated, but he knows he has to because of all of the goddamn commuting he does. He picks up four pairs of soft leather driving moccasins, praising the fashion gods that they’re in style this winter, and he should be happy, buying for pairs of shoes at once. Instead, knowing that he’s going to be resigned to the same four pairs of shoes for the next month plus is killing him inside. 

He and Blaine text a little, but Kurt keeps it brief and rebuffs any attempts to try and meet up over the weekend and into the next week. It takes forever for him to actually do anything, so he’s leaving the apartment earlier and getting home later because his commute just takes longer and he’s _tired_. Kurt’s just so tired and in pain and he doesn’t really want to deal with anything and he knows Blaine overheard what was meant for Rachel and he’s aware he’s being stupid about the whole thing. A few days turn into a week, and then Cooper shows up for his visit, and Blaine’s busy and Kurt doesn’t need an excuse anymore.

That’s when he starts to feel really kind of moronic. He wakes up on Sunday - nine days after everything occurred - and realized enough is enough. He can’t fix things with Blaine today but he can stop moping around. 

Rachel’s at NYADA, getting in an extra day of practice since she flies back to Ohio for Thanksgiving on Wednesday, so he takes an extra long shower and takes time picking out one of his favorite outfits. He puts on the bright red moccasins, which are undoubtedly the best out of the four he has to choose from, and grabs his crutches, which he only has to use on long treks outside now. He’s able to hobble and maneuver around the loft and the office without them for the most part. See? Things are looking up.

He’s not quite sure what he’s going to do with his day aside from getting out of the loft. Coffee, sure. The park is kind of a stretch, but he could sit on a bench and people watch once he’s there. He fumbles out of the door, resting his crutches on the wall while he locks the door when he hears footsteps on the stairs.

“Kurt Hummel! Just the person I wanted to see!” Kurt turns to see Cooper standing on the landing, grinning that same stupid grin he gives everyone, which he doesn’t find nearly as charming now that he’s spent more than five seconds with the man.

“I - aren’t you here to see Blaine?” Kurt asks, shoving the keys in his pocket and hobbling over to the railing near where Cooper is. 

“No, actually, Blaine thinks I’m at church. Don’t tell him.” Cooper winks, and oh god, is Cooper a _fake_ televangelist? “I’ll try to find someplace tonight to go, but even if I don’t - this was more important. Can I buy you a cup of coffee?”

Okay, maybe not so fake, which makes Kurt feel like he has no choice but to go, especially since he was going to get coffee anyway. “Alright, sure.”

Kurt must be moving far too slow for Cooper because he doesn’t ask Kurt any questions, just continually looks all of the passers-by on the street in the eye and tells them hello or good morning and okay, Kurt’s beginning to see why Blaine might have issues with Cooper’s approach. He’s afraid Cooper’s going to proselytize the florist on the street corner if she doesn’t start averting her gaze quickly and she’s got a giant Buddha hanging on the wall.

They make it to the bakery unscathed though and Kurt stands in line because he doesn’t trust Cooper to listen long enough to get his drink order right. Cooper does have enough sense to pick them both up from the bar, telling Kurt to grab a table, and when he sits down, he finally gets enough sense to ask Kurt how he is.

“Oh!” Kurt accepts his coffee cup from Cooper before answering, because he really didn’t think they were going to talk about him at all. “I’m, well, I’m doing better I suppose. It’s more annoying than anything. Thanks for asking.”

Cooper looks proud of himself, as if he’s done Kurt a life-saving favor as opposed to asking a simple question. “I wanted to talk to you about Blaine. Blaine hasn’t had a lot go right for him, especially in the last few years, at no help to me or Mom or Dad, so when he said things had gotten messed up between you guys, I thought I would try and make things right. Blaine doesn’t know I’m here, but people turn to me for help all the time, Kurt.”

Kurt hopes his face isn’t one of complete and utter horrification. “Cooper … that’s … really nice of you, but I think I’ve got it under control.”

“Really?” Cooper says, looking confused. “Because Blaine said you two have barely spoken in over a week and well, he’s really upset about it. That doesn’t sound under control to me.”

“Okay, okay, that’s totally my fault,” Kurt retorts. “I … was being a jerk. Breaking two toes will do that to you. I realize that now and I’m going to fix it. I was going to wait until you were gone.”

“No point in that,” Cooper replies, breaking a piece off a blueberry muffin and popping it in his mouth. “Call him now.” 

“I’m not calling him in front of you.” He sips his mocha silently, realizing Cooper’s not going to relent until he does something, so he pulls out his phone to send Blaine a text. _Hi. How is Cooper’s visit going?_

He waits for the reply, and Cooper triumphantly grins. “I don’t want to get too deep, because I know you don’t share our faith, Kurt, and Blaine was extremely worried about me scaring you off - I might have said something to him about me talking to you and he flipped out on me and then I went behind his back and did it anyway, because really, I know what I’m talking about here! - but I really think you were sent to Blaine for a reason, at a time when he needs someone like you. I mean, New York is filled with millions of people and he moved next door to you, who I can tell he shares an emotional connection with from the little time I’ve spent with you. That wasn’t a coincidence.”

Kurt stares blankly at Cooper for a moment because he wasn’t entirely sure Cooper was capable of thought-provoking thoughts like this. Every time he _had_ watched Cooper’s program on CNT, knowing what little about religion he did, he felt the program was a bit of superficial fluff designed to rake in as many donations as possible. Kurt’s phone buzzes with a reply text from Blaine, breaking his concentration. _Yeah everyone’s been behaving. :) How are you? How’s your foot?_

He quickly types out a reply ( _Getting better. I’m sorry I’ve been so short with you. Can you come over sometime this week after Cooper leaves? I’ll make it up to you and we’ll have dinner and talk._ ) before regarding Cooper finally. “Aren’t you worried about your brother being with someone who doesn’t share the same faith as him, as you put it?” he asks bluntly.

Cooper laughs loudly. “If he still has a relationship with God after everything that happened in California, you’re not going to change that, Kurt, no offense.”

“Point taken,” Kurt states, a small smile curling on his lips as he takes a sip of his mocha. His phone already has another message from Blaine - _Kurt that’s not necessary and don’t apologize._

_Well I think it is. He leaves tomorrow? Are you free after work?_

“I know you and Blaine don’t always see eye to eye, Cooper, but you’re a good brother,” Kurt offers, partially because underneath the layers of bullshit, it really is true, and partially because he knows Cooper wants to hear it. “Please, though, whatever you do, can you not tell him we talked? I really was going to speak with him, I swear.”

Cooper grins again, and god, these Anderson boys and their smiles. Kurt’s utterly helpless around them. Another message comes through Kurt’s phone, a simple _Yes_ and Kurt can see the iMessage dots hover and disappear, as if Blaine can’t decide if he can say something else and finally _I missed you_ comes through. 

_I missed you too. We’ll talk tomorrow okay?_ Kurt types out in response, wondering how fast he can get rid of Cooper. He’s cooking Blaine dinner tomorrow night and there’s no way things are going wrong this time around.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've been updating this fairly frequently, throwing this at you all as I go (and I'm not quite sure what's possessed me, if I figure it out, I'll share, swear), but as a warning, the next update will probably be later than most as I'm going out of town this weekend. I've left you in a good place though, I promise. ;) Look at all of those glorious words to tide you over until I return!

Kurt spends the rest of Sunday planning the perfect meal for him and Blaine for the following night, as well as begging Rachel to stay late at NYADA or make plans to be otherwise engaged, giving them a little privacy. Luckily, Mondays are usually late nights at school for her so she doesn’t have to plan on too much else, and Kurt spends the whole morning at work Monday filled with nervous energy. He isn’t worried this time like before though, he’s almost excited with the promise of what’s to come. When Isabelle calls him into her office late that afternoon, he’s not even worried because he’s too worked up until he sees the look on her face.

“Is … everything alright?” he asks, sitting down in front of her, his hands starting to fidget a little.

“Of course, Kurt, I just wanted to speak to you a little about your future here at Vogue.com,” she says, and he takes a calming breath. Of all of the days for this conversation to happen. She stares at him seriously for a moment and then breaks into a smile. “Oh, I can’t keep up the charade any longer! We found a position for you! No more interning! Starting next Monday you’re officially our Social Media Assistant and you’ll be working with Sarah to revamp our Twitter and Tumblr and Facebook and all that good stuff and they let me keep you, Kurt!”

She jumps up from behind her desk to hug him tightly, and Kurt’s just kind of speechless, because that was not the direction he thought this was going to go in. “Are - are you _serious_?”

The next few hours are a blur of congratulations from everyone in the department and there’s champagne at three o’clock in the afternoon and everyone looks the other way when Isabelle hands Kurt a glass. The buzz wears off by the time he reaches Bushwick, but he opens a bottle of white wine that’s hiding in the back of the fridge once he gets home as he prepares dinner for him and Blaine because _holy shit, he actually works at Vogue now_. Sure, he had one of the rare and few paid long term internships before all of this, but he still didn’t think he’d actually get hired - he thought for sure he’d be shifted to one of the other, less fabulous publications, and really, who wants to make a name for themselves at _Self_? Blaine texts him when he gets on the train and Kurt lets him know he’s cooking and he has excellent news, but his hands are busy, so he should just show up. 

Blaine knocks on the door and Kurt walks to the door far faster than he should on his still-sore foot. He slides it open it to find Blaine standing on the other side with a small bouquet of flowers, smiling sheepishly at him. He’s wearing one of the bow ties they picked out, the black and white checkered one, and he couldn’t look more adorable if he tried. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. In case I did anything to make you upset. Well, and then you said you had excellent news, so they’re preemptive.”

Kurt wants to kiss him right then and there in the doorway. It takes all the restraint he has to blurt out, “Vogue hired me!” instead, taking the flowers from Blaine so he doesn’t crush them when he reaches around his shoulders in a warm embrace, Blaine squeezing him tighter when he does. His lungs expand as he breathes in deep, and he doesn’t want to exhale, doesn’t want to let his breath go, because once he does, the moment will pass and Blaine will pull back and Kurt just wants to cherish this little slice of perfection for as long as he possibly can. 

When he finally does, Blaine’s smile is wide and warm and he says, “I am so, so happy for you, and I’m so glad they finally came to their senses, because there’s no one who deserves it more than you, and I’m _really_ glad I stopped for the flowers now.” They share a laugh and Kurt ushers him inside, shutting the door before he heads to the kitchen to find a vase for the flowers. 

“You’re the first person I’ve told,” Kurt says, arranging the flowers artfully and setting them on the table. Kurt knows he could have called other people on the ride home - his dad, Rachel - but they were at work and school and might not have answered and he _really_ didn’t want them calling back during his night with Blaine. They can wait. 

“I feel so flattered,” Blaine says, still grinning as he wanders around the kitchen, and he picks up Kurt’s almost empty glass of wine.

“You don’t mind if I drink, do you?” Kurt asks, suddenly worried - he didn’t even _think_ about Blaine’s reaction when he opened the bottle. He hopes he’s not one of those Christians who’s against alcohol. 

“Ah, no,” Blaine replies, and is he _blushing_? “I was wondering if I could maybe try it? And then if I like it I could share the rest of the bottle with you? Since we’re celebrating, after all.”

Kurt nods slowly and watches as Blaine takes a sip from his glass, eyes trained on his throat as he swallows, as his Adam’s apple bobs and Kurt’s breath hitches. “Blaine Anderson, is that the first alcohol that’s ever touched your lips?” he asks, and when Blaine nods himself, Kurt groans ruefully. “I’m corrupting you. I know I’m not the best influence as a friend, but this is the first time I’m actually corrupting you.”

He heads to grab Blaine another glass, realizing for the rest of the night he’s not going to be able to forget about the way Blaine’s lips were wrapped around his, and Blaine ducks his head, laughing at his words. “You’re not corrupting me. I’m the one who asked!”

“You’re just trying to make me feel better,” Kurt says softly as he moves next to Blaine, reaching for the bottle to pour wine into both of their glasses. Blaine _always_ tries to make him feel better. Their fingers brush as Kurt reaches for his across the counter, and he looks up at Blaine, since he’s leaning on the counter for support, and Blaine’s eyes are so open and honest and for a moment, the air feels charged with something. _Something_ is going to happen tonight, he can feel it - and he’s not the only one trying to make that happen.

They’re both on the same page and the thought of that makes Kurt even giddier with anticipation.

“We have to toast,” Kurt points out once their glasses are full, and Blaine bends down to lean on the counter too, so that they’re eye level.

“Well, we have to toast to _you_ , Mr. … what’s your new title?”

“Social Media Assistant,” Kurt replies, and his his turn to duck bashfully, because the way Blaine’s looking at him with so much admiration, it’s too much for him to handle.

“To the best Social Media Assistant Vogue.com will ever see.” They clink their glasses and Kurt gets a warm fuzzy feeling inside instantly, but he knows it’s from Blaine’s words, not the wine. “You’re moving around better than when I saw you last.”

Just like that, it’s like they were never apart, launching into story after story of what was missed. Blaine helps Kurt move the food to the table and the conversation flows over dinner. Since they haven’t seen each other in a week and a half, there’s no shortage of things to talk about. It hits Kurt at some point, even though they haven’t acknowledged it - this is totally a date. There’s wine and flowers and good conversation and a good meal and somehow, things have shifted even though no one’s said anything. Kurt didn’t intend for this to be a date when he asked Blaine to meet him tonight, but that’s what it’s become.

Blaine does the dishes since Kurt cooked and he pours the rest of the wine into their glasses just as he’s finishing up. “Thank you,” he says softly after Blaine dries his hands on a towel, handing him his glass. He reaches for Blaine’s free hand and leads him to the couch, his stomach full of nervous butterflies and he wonders if Blaine feels the same way. He gives Blaine’s hand a gentle squeeze before letting go just in case. 

They sit down and Kurt sets his wine on the coffee table while Blaine fidgets nervously with his. “ _Kurt_ ,” he finally says, voice filled with emotion and desire and longing all rolled into one, and oh god, he actually is going to try to make a move - that’s how much he wants this.

Kurt plucks the wine glass from his hand and takes Blaine’s hands in his. “Blaine, I know, I’m getting there, I really am. Why do you think I wanted you to come here tonight? Oh -”

Suddenly, words don’t matter so much because Blaine’s eyes flicker just briefly to his lips and his own are parted ever so slightly and what has Kurt been thinking all night? The time for words is over. They’re both aware of what they mean to each other and it didn’t need to be spelled out. Isabelle was right, life is only complicated if you make it complicated, and he’s through making this more complicated than it needs to be. 

Kurt leans closer into Blaine’s personal space and hears Blaine echo his _oh_. He trails his left hand up to the nape of Blaine’s neck, not pulling him closer, just to rest, comforting and safe and feels Blaine grip his right hand tightly, lacing their fingers together. Kurt hears Blaine take in a shuddering breath right before their lips meet, the soft slide of their lips against each other, the taste of sweet wine masking the taste of Blaine’s underneath, and Kurt wishes he could keep kissing Blaine until all he tastes is him. His heart is about to leap out of his chest and he wonders if Blaine can feel it since their torsos are so close they’re almost touching. Kurt’s right leg is folded underneath him and his left is leaning over the edge of the couch, foot planted on the hardwood floor, and if his toes weren’t all broken and taped together and had any range of motion, they’d be curling against the slanted wood through his sock. It’s just a kiss, a single kiss, but really, it’s so much more than that.

It’s a leap forward.

Kurt pulls back first, because he’s not entirely sure Blaine is breathing through his nose and he doesn’t want him to pass out, and if he thought the biggest grin he’d ever see Blaine Anderson make was when he bought _bow ties_ , he had another thing coming. It’s contagious, and Kurt bites down on the corner of his lip to stop smiling so much before he stops himself because _why_ , and looks away, just for a minute, because Blaine’s doing that wide-eyed adoration thing again. God, he is just really done for, isn’t he?

When he glances back at Blaine, smiling slyly himself, he brings down the hand resting on Blaine’s neck and places it over his heart to find it’s beating just as fast as his. “Kurt - I just - I’ve never -” and oh god, now he’s embarrassed; he thinks this isn’t normal.

“No, shh, shh. Mine is the same.” He brings his right hand to his own body, the one that’s still entwined with Blaine’s hand, and places it over his own heart, letting Blaine feel how much the kiss affected him too. Blaine’s smile returns and they sit there for a moment, hands planted on each other’s chests until things calm a bit, and Kurt says, “I thought it might be your first. That’s why I wanted to make it special.”

Blaine’s brow furrows slightly, looking at Kurt as if he’s lost his mind. “It _was_ special. It didn’t matter where we were or what was going on. It was special because it was you.” It’s Blaine who initiates their second kiss, and Kurt’s not quite ready for it, letting out a soft gasp against Blaine’s lips right before they touch. His hands are still caught in between them, so he fists them in Blaine’s cardigan, pulling him imperceptibly closer. Blaine’s lips are moving a bit more swiftly this time; he’s less tentative, more sure, and Kurt snakes one of his hands up between them, cupping Blaine’s cheek softly. Blaine lets his head fall back when he does and Kurt takes the opportunity to kiss him deeper than before, lips parting slightly and Blaine follows suit. 

Kurt pulls back again, letting out a low chuckle when they part, and moves his hand back to the nape of Blaine’s neck to press their foreheads together. “I am really, really sorry for being stupid. This is so much better,” he teases, and Blaine laughs along with him.

“Timing. Like you said. It all worked out.” Blaine’s eyebrows raise as if he just realizes something, and he picks up the two glasses of wine, handing Kurt his. “This is our second glass - well, our second glass _together_ \- and we haven’t started yet. We should toast again.”

“We already toasted to me, so we obviously have to toast to you,” Kurt quips, accepting his glass with a grin. Blaine starts to protest, but Kurt shakes his head. “No, this is what I was trying to say earlier, but I was too nervous. Blaine, ever since you came into my life almost three months ago, you’ve been a ray of sunshine, if you will. You’re always trying to brighten my day, and in New York, where everyone’s so self-centered, it was a welcome change. You’ve been such a good friend to me and that’s why I’ve been so hesitant to move forward with anything, because being your friend was better than not having you in my life at all.” Blaine smiles sadly at him at that, and reaches out for Kurt’s free hand with his own, keeping him grounded to the couch, a tangible connection between them.

“You once told me I’m a good person and - well, I still don’t know if that’s entirely true. But what _is_ true that is you think it because when I’m with you, I am all the best parts of myself. You inspire that in me, and you also reminded me it’s stupid to live through life in fear of what might happen. Which is something I knew, but I obviously needed a reminder. So, yes, Blaine Anderson, I’d like to toast to you.”

He clinks their glasses together and Blaine’s eyes actually look a little watershed. “Now I feel silly for only toasting to your promotion,” he says before they sip, and Kurt shrugs after. 

“Don’t feel silly. I had a plan and it took me a week and a half to actually say the things I’d planned to. _That’s_ silly.”

They sip their wine some more, but Blaine can’t say another word before the loft door opens and Rachel walks in. “Kurt, sorry, I took as long as I could! I’ve been texting you to see if you needed more time - oh, hi Blaine,” she says when she sees both of them on the couch.

“Yeah, sorry, I haven’t been checking my phone,” Kurt says, and there’s no way she’s not going to be able to tell what went on tonight. Their cheeks are probably flushed from the wine and the kissing - their lips too, god, they were just kissing _minutes earlier_.

Sure enough, Rachel pauses, takes one look at them, and squeals, dropping her bags to the floor before climbing on the couch and hugging them both. “Finally,” she says with a sigh, smacking kisses to both of their cheeks. She climbs back off of them almost immediately and starts walking backwards towards her bed, giving them her crazy face, and Kurt pretty much wants to die. “I’m just going to retreat … to my corner. You guys pretend like I’m not here.”

Walls. Why did they not pick an apartment with _walls_?

Blaine does this sort of half-smile, half-worried expression, like he’s unsure what to do with full-out Rachel Berry crazy, and glances down at his watch, actually looking worried when he does. “Oh, gosh, when did it get so late? It’s after eleven.” He glances over at Kurt and bites his lip to keep from smiling full out, his lip that’s all wet and shiny and red from kissing Kurt and, okay, yes, maybe they haven’t looked at the time in a while. “I should get going. You shouldn’t show up tired to Vogue now that you’re an actual employee.”

“I suppose not,” Kurt concedes, swinging his right leg off the couch so he can stand up with both feet. “Let me walk you next door.”

“Goodnight, Rachel!” Blaine calls loudly, since Rachel is in bed pretending to be engrossed in her iPod, but Kurt knows nothing’s playing and she’s totally eavesdropping. Brat.

“Goodnight Blaine, who is now Kurt’s boyfriend!” she calls out cheerfully, and when they walk out onto the landing, Blaine leans up against the front door of 3B and tilts his head a little, grinning that sinful grin that leaves Kurt’s knees weak and says, “Boyfriend, huh? I like the sound of that.”

“I like that too,” Kurt admits, placing one last kiss against Blaine’s lips, soft and sweet, because as happy as he is, he doesn’t want to start making out with Blaine in the hallway. “I’m sorry about Rachel,” he says with a sigh once he pulls away. “She leaves first thing Wednesday to go home to Ohio for Thanksgiving for five days.”

Blaine’s eyebrow quirks. “So your loft will be Rachel-free for a few days? That’s some pretty good timing if you ask me.” He gives Kurt one last smile before unlocking the door and slipping inside. “Goodnight, Kurt.”

Blaine has a point. Timing indeed.

***

The next two days fly by because at work, Kurt’s getting ready to start his new role, and Tuesday night is spent helping Rachel franticly pack for her visit home. He is able to cut out early on Wednesday, and he’s happy for the blissful four day weekend that awaits him, especially because Blaine shares the same four day weekend as well. The church has extended aftercare hours on Wednesday and Friday, but Blaine is only putting in a full day Wednesday and taking Friday off to spend with Kurt. 

He has no idea what they’re going to do all weekend aside from possibly some Black Friday shopping, and he figures they should spend part of it with Quinn, but still. The idea thrills him.

He has plans with Quinn to go shopping Wednesday night for their Thanksgiving meal while Blaine’s still at work. There’s already a turkey breast defrosting in their fridge, but they need to pick up everything else. They set up the shopping date forever ago, back before he even broke his toes, and yet now, for some reason he’s worried. Quinn’s the only family aside from Cooper Blaine has, and even if she’s not a blood relative, he’s somewhat worried about her reaction.

He’s not quite sure why he ever was, because the second Quinn opens the door to 3B, she pulls him in for a warm embrace, whispering in his ear, “We are so, so blessed to have you in our lives, Kurt Hummel, and I am so happy Blaine and you are finally together.”

That answers that.

They go out and buy far too much food for three people, but on the upside, no one will have to cook the rest of the weekend (or possibly into next week). They’re lugging all of their bags up the stairs (the downside of overpurchasing) when Blaine comes home just in time to help them with their wares. Quinn heads up the last set of stairs before them to get the door unlocked, now that she’s been alleviated from most of the heavy lifting, and Blaine nudges Kurt’s shoulder with his own. “Hey, stranger. Good day?” Blaine is smiling so wide, his teeth are showing, and Kurt Hummel is an _idiot_ for not letting this happen sooner.

“Better now,” he replies before following Quinn up the stairs to get the food in the fridge.

They spend the rest of the night snuggling on the couch and watching movies with Quinn before Kurt finally forces himself to say goodnight and walk next door to the empty loft to go to bed. Blaine’s half asleep himself when he kisses him goodnight outside 3A, his eyelids fluttering shut, and Kurt has to push at his shoulder to send him back to his own bed.

Thursday he sleeps in with no alarms to wake him and he takes his time getting ready - he told Blaine and Quinn he wouldn’t be over until early afternoon, because he has an important call to make. He has to call his dad. So much has happened over the past few days - the promotion, Blaine - he figured it would be easier to save it all for today when he knew he’d be calling for a long chat anyway, but now it all seems like so much.

There’s also something he wants to ask, something that occurred to him when he was sitting with Blaine and Quinn last night. Something he hasn’t even asked them yet. 

So, he calls and quickly talks to Carole and Finn before being handed off to Burt, who he tells everything, as succinctly as possible, before finally getting to his point. “So, I know it sucks I’m not there today, but at least it all paid off! I’ll definitely be there for Christmas now.”

“I know, Kurt, and we’re all so proud of you. We really are.” Burt’s voice is thick like it sometimes gets, not like he’s going to cry, because he rarely does, but Kurt knows there’s truth in his words.

“Anyway, I looked at flights this morning, and everything is really expensive, and then I was thinking … Quinn and Blaine will be here in the city all by themselves, so maybe instead of flying we could rent a car and drive back and they could stay with us? You know I’m a safe driver, Dad, and I haven’t said anything to them, so I’m not even sure they’ll want to come, but I know Christmas is going to be hard for them, and they’ve both been good to me and Rachel this year, so I thought I’d ask.”

“You sure it’s just so you’re not away from the new boyfriend for a few days?” Burt says with a snicker, but he knows his dad gets how serious this is. Burt knows Kurt has dated while he’s been away, but he’s barely mentioned more than a name to him, let alone brought someone home to meet him. “Yeah, yeah, of course. You know your friends have always been welcome here.”

He’s greeted later at the door to 3B with a fervent kiss from Blaine, along with a sheepish, “I wanted to make up from last night,” and luckily, Quinn is busy in the kitchen and not paying any attention to them. They cook together for hours, the three of them trading off, and Kurt’s pleased to learn both of them are quite handy in the kitchen, which is a lovely change from Rachel almost burning the building down the last time she attempted to cook herself. When they finally sit down to eat, Quinn says she’d like to say a prayer before they eat, and she takes Blaine’s hand across the table and Blaine holds his other out expectantly. Kurt takes it and sits quietly while Quinn speaks, because relationships are all about compromise right? (Plus, he really likes holding Blaine’s hand.)

“So … I have a proposition for you,” Kurt says, once they’ve started eating and they both look at him expectantly. “I don’t know what you two were thinking about doing for Christmas, but I was looking at plane tickets today, and they’re overpriced, of course, so I was thinking of renting a car and driving back to Ohio. And then I was talking to my dad today, and telling him how you guys were probably just going to stay here, and he said, the more the merrier … and I’d really love it if you kept me company on the drive. I mean, there are other reasons of course, but that drive is awful.”

Both of them have been staring at him the whole entire time, eyes wide, and Blaine finally breaks eye contact with him to glance back at Quinn. “I mean, if you guys want to talk about it, that’s fine, I just thought -”

“No,” Quinn says abruptly. “I mean - no, we don’t need to talk about it. Kurt, that’s more than generous and I can’t think of a better place to spend Christmas than in Ohio with you and your family.”

Blaine seems conflicted, as if he can’t decide whether or not to hug Quinn or Kurt first. Quinn wins out and as he’s hugging Quinn, Kurt decides they need to come up with a _really_ good Christmas gift for her.

***

They go out early Black Friday and come back and nap in Kurt’s bed, cuddly and warm under too many blankets. “When you were in my bed, when you hurt your foot, I had to force myself to sit at the kitchen table,” Blaine confesses sleepily hours later, once they’ve woken up but still don’t have the energy to move. “Even the couch was too close. You were so … tactile,” he says, choosing his words carefully before laughing. Kurt mumbles at him to shut up and just nudges closer to him, placing a soft kiss against his the crease between his jaw and his neck. “I just knew if you tried to get me to lay down with you, I wouldn’t have had any willpower and I didn’t want you to do anything you’d regret.”

“I wouldn’t have regretted it,” Kurt replies, trailing his lips up to the corner of Blaine’s mouth for another kiss. Blaine shifts until their lips align and Kurt hums into the kiss, which is as slow and lazy as they feel. This is the closest they’ve been thus far, and Kurt’s content to keep it that way, kissing Blaine soft and leisurely for as long as possible, even if his body has other plans. He shifts again, rolling his hips away from Blaine so he doesn’t notice him growing hard, which was bound to happen sooner or later. They’ve been cuddling for hours, Blaine’s warm breath tickling his neck as they drifted in and out of sleep, and Kurt’s libido is only so strong.

Blaine’s phone vibrates with a text, which they ignore in favor for more kissing, until it vibrates again with a reminder. Kurt giggles against his mouth and tells him, “Just answer it so it’ll stop.” 

Blaine sighs and picks up his phone from Kurt’s nightstand. “It’s Quinn. She wants to know if we want to go see a movie with her, but she totally understands if we’re too tired, which I think is code word for if we don’t want to go with her, we have an out.”

Kurt closes his eyes and smiles. “She’s too good to us. No, we should go.” He leans over to place one last kiss square on Blaine’s lips. “How about this, tomorrow night. You, me, and an actual planned date. Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect,” Blaine replies, typing out a response to Quinn as Kurt stretches his arms over his head, trying to wake himself up to go meet her.

The next day is as lazy as Thursday, sleeping in and taking time getting ready. Kurt does sneak out at some point to run to the florist on the corner to pick up flowers for Blaine and he’s glad he doesn’t run into him bringing them back.

When Blaine knocks on the door promptly at six, Kurt grabs the flowers anyway, even though the effect isn’t the same with him opening the door. Still, the look on Blaine’s face when he sees them is worth it. They go to an Italian place a few blocks over and Kurt tells Blaine stories of Breadstix and Blaine tells him about his mother’s lasagna, which he misses and feels stupid about because it was nothing special. They’re not even Italian. 

Kurt hasn’t been using the crutches since his commute on Wednesday, and he uses that excuse to hold onto Blaine extra tight as they walk home. He’s pretty sure Blaine can see right through him, but says nothing. It’s chilly, and Blaine is warm, and he really shouldn’t need an excuse at all.

Once they get back to the apartment, Kurt removes his scarf and jacket and sits down on the couch, Blaine following suit. His laptop is already on the coffee table - he figured they could watch a TV show or a movie or something. “Do you want to watch something on the laptop?” he asks, and he tries not to laugh at the way Blaine blushes and stammers.

“I - uh - okay! Sure!”

Kurt regards him for a moment as he fidgets and finally says, “Oh my goodness, you want to make out, don’t you? I really have corrupted you.” Blaine stammers some more and Kurt rests his hand on top of both of Blaine’s to calm him. “It’s okay, I promise, come here.”

“I just really like kissing you,” Blaine whispers, and Kurt kisses him once, just barely touching their lips together, before pulling away and agreeing.

“I really like kissing you too,” he says, kissing him again, this time firmer, more insistent, and he finally says, “Blaine, if you want to slow down at all or if I get carried away, just let me know, okay?”

Blaine nods, his eyes trained on Kurt’s lips, and he looks so _eager_ , Kurt feels obliged to make this amazing. They start out slow but the intensity quickly builds, Blaine letting out little gasps each time they break for air. “Do you want to lie down?” Kurt asks after a bit, and he doesn’t miss the way his stomach twists when Blaine’s voice comes out all scratchy when he answers in the affirmative. It’s a bit of a mess, Blaine can’t figure out what to do with his arms, or his legs for that matter, but finally they get situated side by side, hips a safe distance away from each other so when the inevitable happens, no one freaks out. 

“Hello again,” Kurt says softly, his own voice a bit hoarse. He gives Blaine a reassuring grin and reaches up to card a hand through the back of his hair, letting his fingernails run just above the nape of his neck where the gel is almost nonexistent. He can feel Blaine start to relax under his fingertips, nervous from the whole arms and legs situation, and he murmurs, “Don’t ever be worried about what I’m thinking, alright? Because the only thing I’m thinking is how happy I am to be with you.”

Blaine lets out a shaky breath as he nods and Kurt surges forward to kiss him then. Blaine’s left hand comes up to grip Kurt’s bicep, and when Kurt accidentally tugs at Blaine’s bottom lip with his own a little rougher than he intended, his grip becomes even tighter, which either means the move was really good or really bad. “Sorry,” Kurt whispers, just in case, but as soon as the word is out of his mouth, Blaine’s correcting him. 

 

“No, that was - you could do that again. On purpose. If you wanted.” Blaine still sounds a little nervous, but he smiles at the end, so Kurt grins right back before reclaiming his mouth with his own, kissing him a few times before sucking on his bottom lip nice and hard so he doesn’t expect it and delighting at the groan that gets trapped in Blaine’s throat. That’s the first time he heard Blaine groan. He’s suddenly thankful that his hips are located far away from Blaine’s at the moment, because his cock is beginning to stir. 

He starts kissing across Blaine’s jaw to give him a moment to catch his breath, which is a good plan from the way Blaine gasps when he does it. “This okay?” Kurt ghosts across his skin, lips catching as he moves from spot to spot. 

“Oh, oh, so okay,” Blaine bites out, still breathing heavily, so Kurt takes a detour down his neck, which also proves to be okay from the way Blaine whines, “Oh, please don’t stop Kurt, _please_.” Blaine’s neck is extra sensitive it seems, and Kurt doesn’t spend too much time on any one spot, not wanting to send his boyfriend back next door to Quinn covered in marks. He’s not sure he’d ever live it down. 

Blaine tilts his head back a smidge for easier access and Kurt nuzzles and licks and sucks and he knows he should move on, he should move back up to Blaine’s mouth, but the tiny, barely there gasps and moans coming from Blaine’s lips are intoxicating and he’s transfixed to the spot. His left foot starts to cramp, which it’s been doing since he stopped with the crutches, but he really can’t be bothered with silly things like that. He rolls his ankle, trying to work it out so they don’t have to stop, and instead, gets a shooting pain that sends his knee flying upward, straight into Blaine’s crotch.

He’s all set to apologize, head flying up and away from Blaine’s neck, when he realizes he didn’t hurt Blaine. On the contrary, his knee seemed to have provided the perfect amount of pressure to send Blaine over the edge. Blaine just _came_ , and from the way he’s trying to hide his face, he’s totally mortified by it. 

“Blaine,” Kurt says soothingly, wondering if he should try and comfort him more or give him space. “Blaine, honey, I am so, so sorry. My foot had a cramp and I was trying to work it out -”

“Can you just give me a minute, Kurt?” Blaine asks quietly, cutting him off. “And hope that I don’t die of embarrassment?”

“Yeah. I’ll just … go get some water.” He takes his time walking to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water, sipping it as he leans against the counter. He really hopes - _oh god_ \- what if Blaine is one of those type of Christians who think masturbation is a sin? What if he’s never touched himself before and this is the first time he’s ever come, aside from a wet dream or something?

Surely not. Blaine wanted to make out, after all. 

Kurt grabs another bottle of water in case Blaine wants one and walks back over. He presses the bottle of water against Blaine’s hand as he sits on the edge of the couch, still giving Blaine space, and he takes it with a sigh. “I know it doesn’t seem like it to you, but everything is okay, I promise. I don’t think any differently of you other than I must have _really_ been doing the right things to turn you on.” He offers Blaine a small smile as he tilts his head, and Blaine finally looks him in the eye. 

“That neck thing … that neck thing is _dangerous_ , Kurt.” Kurt ducks his head and laughs as Blaine takes another sip of water and he swears he can see the hint of a smile on the corners of his mouth. 

Kurt purses his lips and sets his own bottle of water on the coffee table. “Here’s what I think we should do. Since you’re probably starting to get ... physically uncomfortable in addition to emotionally uncomfortable, why don’t you go next door and take a shower and change into pajamas and take some more time? And then you can come back here and we’ll talk. Or, you can use our shower and I can give you something to wear, I just thought you’d want the space.”

Blaine regards his plan for a long time and finally says, “Can I use yours? I don’t think I can get away with going next door without explaining something to Quinn, and I really don’t want to deal with that right now.” 

“Sure,” Kurt says with a smile before getting up to find Blaine something to wear. He’s rummaging through his underwear before he realizes that he has no clue what kind of underwear Blaine prefers, so he grabs him a pair of briefs and a pair of boxer briefs just in case. Blaine doesn’t strike him as a boxer wearer anyway, but if he is, he’s out of luck. “Here,” he says as he hands Blaine the pile of clothes once he’s back by the couch. “There’s, uh, underwear choices, I wasn’t sure. Take your time.”

Kurt waits until he hears the shower running to change into pajamas of his own and settling on the bed with his laptop, checking his email to keep himself busy while Blaine is in the shower. He doesn’t want to dwell on things or get lost in his head while Blaine’s in there. He’s in the middle of catching up on the fashion blogs he keeps track of when Blaine comes out, mumbling something about using some of Kurt’s hair products that he found under the sink, and Kurt tries to avert his eyes quickly after his eyes dart to the way the soft cotton pants he gave Blaine to wear sling low over his hips, because they really, _really_ need to have a serious discussion right now. 

“That’s fine,” Kurt says, patting the empty mattress next to where he is. “Come here,” he adds softly, waiting for Blaine to climb into bed before he asks, “Can I hug you now?”

Blaine nods, still not really looking Kurt in the eye as he sits next to him, and Kurt wraps his arms around his shoulders and back, pulling him into his chest and the crook of his arm. They sit in silence for a moment while Kurt rubs circles into Blaine’s back with his palm, and finally, he asks, “Do you mind if I ask you a potentially embarrassing question?”

Blaine laughs sharply and buries his face even further into Kurt’s chest. Kurt can smell his body wash and shampoo on Blaine’s skin, he’s so close. “It can’t get any more embarrassing, Kurt.”

“I just … don’t want to assume things, okay? Have you ever … touched yourself before?”

As soon as the words are out of Kurt’s mouth, Blaine’s groaning loudly against Kurt’s chest. “Yes. I mean, not since moving in with Quinn, which is probably my problem, especially since I’m around you all the time and especially now that I’m _kissing you_ all the time. I used to have to wait until midnight so my parents wouldn’t catch me and that doesn’t exactly work here.”

“Well, see. There’s your problem. Mornings are your friend, Blaine.” Blaine groans again, face still nuzzled in the cotton of Kurt’s shirt, and Kurt tries to stop the grin from forming on his face. 

“I just feel so stupid. You know so much about this stuff and I know _nothing_ and stuff like this is just going to keep happening. I - I’m not a prude, Kurt I swear, I do want to do more than just kiss you eventually, but this happened so fast and it’s all kind of overwhelming right now.”

“Hey, stop that.” Kurt shifts them on the bed, pulling Blaine up beside him so he can see his face, tilting his chin up with a light touch of his fingers. “Please don’t feel stupid. You realize that a year ago, I was _just_ as clueless as you? That I never had a real first kiss in high school? That I will never judge you for _anything_ , because I’ve been there?”

Blaine’s silent for a while, taking in all of Kurt’s words, and Kurt knows the next thing out of his mouth could be pure stupidity, but he always tries to be as honest as possible with Blaine. “Would it help if I told you about the very few guys I’ve dated and what I’ve done with them? Who were nowhere near as wonderful as you, if we’re keeping track? So you can see I really don’t know all that much?”

Blaine climbs further up onto the pillows and regards Kurt for a moment before whispering an _okay_. Kurt takes a deep breath and gets more comfortable himself. “Bear with me, I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone all this before. Not even Rachel.” Blaine leans over and kisses Kurt once quickly, a promise that they will come out of this stronger. “Okay. So. Mark. I met Mark in the bakery last October. We had the same coffee order, and we dated for about six weeks. He was twenty-one and he had an apartment ten blocks away and we made out on his couch a lot.” 

Kurt takes another shaky breath, because it’s not all inherently embarrassing, he’s not ashamed of anything per se, but god, he really hates dwelling on the past. Spelling everything out like a laundry list just makes him nervous for how Blaine is going to react. “He, ah, we um, jerked each other off a few times, and I’m sure I was extremely flustered the whole time I dated him, so this is why you really shouldn’t worry. I went home for Thanksgiving and when I came back, he wasn’t returning my calls or texts.”

“Oh, Kurt,” Blaine says with a sad expression, and Kurt squeezes his eyes shut.

“No, it’s … fine. The next one is sort of embarrassing, only looking back and telling you because I don’t _do_ stuff like this, but I was still upset about Mark, and it was only a few weeks later, at the Vogue Christmas party, and there was free champagne everywhere. I ended up talking to this guy, Luke, who was a model from Argentina, and he asked if I wanted to get out of there because he had a hotel room close by. We made out forever and then he gave me a blow job, and I’m pretty sure he could tell it was my first one, because he wouldn’t let me reciprocate. He wouldn’t even let me get him off. He was really gracious about the whole thing, but I’m pretty sure he went back to the party after I left and found someone else. So, see?”

“He probably thought you were a model too at first. You’re as gorgeous as one to me,” Blaine says, picking up one of Kurt’s hands and kissing his fingertips. “You don’t have to keep telling me if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s fine. The other two are - fine. John was a NYADA sophomore that I met at this bar Rachel and I used to go to - well, Rachel still goes, I haven’t been going with her since we stopped dating. We dated for a few months in the spring and he was probably the only person I’d call a serious boyfriend. We - never did anything further than blowjobs either, and broke up right before the summer because he was moving back to Washington for a few months. We said we might try and pick things back up when he got back to the city, but I never really thought he was the one and he didn’t contact me and I had someone sleeping on my couch who was much, much more interesting.”

Kurt finally gets a grin out of Blaine at that. “I actually do feel a bit better now. I’m sorry if you don’t.” He looks up at Kurt from underneath his eyelashes and scrunches up his face in apology, and Kurt wonders if Blaine realizes how effective that face is. He could practically get away with _murder_. It’s a good thing Blaine has a conscience. 

“I feel better because _you_ feel better. How about we set up some ground rules, hmm?” Kurt suggests, snuggling closer to Blaine now that his storytelling is through. “We’ll keep our hands - and other body parts - above the belt until you tell me you’re comfortable with more and we’ll both be more conscious about cooling off, okay? And I’m fine with waiting as long as you want, I really am, I promise.”

“Promise?” Blaine repeats, and Kurt nods, sealing the promise with a kiss that doesn’t last too long because they both start giggling. “Hey,” he says when they finally break. “Who was the last one? You said there were two more.”

“Oh,” Kurt replies, blushing slightly at being caught off guard and brushing a wet curl from Blaine’s face. “That’s because Matt was completely forgettable. Someone at Vogue set me up with him over the summer and we went on three dates and there was just _no spark_. He was nice and sweet, there was just nothing there. What?” he asks, because Blaine is staring at him amusedly.

“Name them all for me. Oh, come on, humor me, Kurt.”

“Mark, Luke, John, Matt … oh my g- _Blaine_ ,” he groans instead, because whenever he has the urge to say _oh my god_ , he just blurts out Blaine’s name instead, which he’s sure Blaine has caught onto, but hey, it’s the first thing that pops into his mind. “Isn’t that some … bible thing? I’ve never _named them all_ before.”

“Yes,” Blaine replies, his mouth twitching into a smile. “I’m _so_ sorry to have broken your streak. You could have had a Peter, or a Timothy, or ooh, a Titus might have been fun …”

“Stop,” Kurt says, laughing at Blaine’s absurdity as he wraps his arms around Blaine’s neck and pulls him close, cutting off his rambling by covering his mouth with his own. “I am quite glad you broke my streak, actually,” he says, turning serious, the words buzzing over Blaine’s lips like an affirmation of something bigger, brushing their lips together again to seal it into their skin. 

Kurt pulls back just slightly, adding, “Stay,” before diving back in for one more kiss, and when Blaine asks, “Tonight?” he nods, but he means so much longer.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, not too long of a wait! The next part should be fairly quick as well, I actually have a bit written as I started writing a chunk of it before anything, right after the prologue because it would not leave me. Also, because I'm seeing [Valentina](http://makeourlifeastory.tumblr.com/) Wednesday and she might beat me if there's no update before then.

Kurt starts staying at work later for a few reasons. One, it never hurts to show his coworkers that he’s a team player now that he’s a salaried employee and his mornings are spent in meetings with human resources getting all kinds of things set up anyway (Kurt still doesn’t really understand what all of his investments and stock options are, but now he has them). Two, staying later affords him the excuse to meet Blaine after he gets off of work so they can ride the train back to Bushwick together. The huge rush of commute is over and they can usually find two seats next to each other, but even when they can’t, they stand close and talk quietly about their days as the train jostles and jolts down the tracks and Kurt has never been happier. 

Blaine tells him about his coworkers, who he’s starting to get to know finally, or the kids and what he did with them. Some sit quietly and work on their homework, some he definitely has to plan things to entertain, and he and his coworker Amy put together a few weeks of Christmas activities - carols and crafts and one day, Blaine has macaroni and glitter stuck to his cardigan, Kurt spots beneath his coat. Kurt comments on it and the next day, Blaine shows up with a small red construction paper heart covered in glitter. He’s pretty sure they leave a sparkling trail the whole way home, but the smile never leaves his face.

Kurt changes his relationship status on Facebook about a week before heading home, when he’s sitting in Starbucks waiting for Blaine to get off work, but hides the status almost immediately. Not because he’s ashamed - quite the opposite, really, he wants to shout it from the rooftops - but Blaine doesn’t have an account, and he doesn’t feel the need to explain over a status update about his nameless, faceless boyfriend. He’s sure over the week they’re in Ohio _someone_ will snap a picture of him and Blaine that he’ll just have to make his profile picture, and that’ll be much more fun. He just thinks it’s the right thing to do in case anyone is checking for some odd reason. 

Someone was bound to catch it though, and it just happened to be Mercedes. She calls him immediately.

“Don’t think I didn’t see that sneaky Facebook business, boy, what was that about?”

She knows about Blaine (he _had_ to call her after their first run in with Cooper), so it doesn’t take long to fill her in. “I have a favor to ask, actually. Do you think he and Quinn can go to church with you and your family Christmas morning? I mean, I walked in the place and it didn’t burn down, so.”

“Oh, _hush_ , you. Of course they’re welcome, and you know you always are too.”

“I think I’ll pass, but I know they’ll appreciate it.” He smiles as he sees Blaine appear outside the Starbucks window and starts to pack up his belongings. He knows his family at home will appreciate a little time together, just the four of them, on Christmas morning, even though no one will admit it. He quickly asks when she’s flying in from LA, letting her know that they’re spending the whole week in Lima, Saturday to Saturday, and they’ll have to meet up before then. Kurt’s really thankful for his job title because thanks to technology, the whole Vogue.com department is ‘working from home’ the two weeks of Christmas and New Years, and even though he’ll be checking his phone and tablet constantly, he’s really grateful for the opportunity.

The Saturday morning they’re set to leave is hectic, because Rachel’s flight was supposed to leave Friday night out of LGA, but got cancelled, and instead of trying to get on a flight in the morning, she opts to take a voucher and come with them. Kurt’s up late waiting for her to get home and then everyone’s up early to shuffle to the car rental with all of their luggage and presents and Kurt’s hopeful there’s an upgrade available. One extra person plus luggage is not going to fit in a small sedan for ten hours comfortably. 

Blaine and Kurt decide they’re going to switch off, seeing as they’re the only ones who have really driven long distances, and Blaine starts off first since Kurt knows the roads of Ohio better than he does. The girls pile in the back of the (thankfully upgraded) midsize, catching a few more hours of shut eye as Blaine makes his way through New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The weather’s cold, but at least there’s no snow, so they make good time, and are able to stop for lunch around one. Kurt takes over, and by the time they’re in Ohio hopping on 30, he can tell Blaine’s nervous. Quinn and Rachel are in the back watching ‘The Way We Were’ on Rachel’s laptop (because it’s Rachel’s goal to make Quinn watch Streisand’s entire back catalog of movies before the year is out, since she’s never seen any of them), not paying any attention to them, so he reaches across the console for Blaine’s hand. 

“Hey,” he says, waiting for Blaine to glance his way instead of out the frosty window towards barren Ohio countryside. “My dad is going to love you. You have _nothing_ to worry about.”

He really doesn’t. They drop Rachel off first and are greeted warmly by her fathers, who insist they all must come over for dinner one night. Hanukkah coincided with Thanksgiving this year, so they’ve already celebrated everything they need to the last time Rachel flew home. 

Kurt, Blaine, and Quinn climb back in the car and Blaine takes a deep breath, letting his eyes slip closed. Kurt and Quinn exchange a look in the rearview mirror and the subsequent drive is quiet to the Hudson-Hummel home. Kurt’s pretty sure Blaine is praying silently, so he keeps his eyes trained on the road and gives him his space. He wishes he weren’t so nervous. 

He understands, somewhat. Blaine’s been cast out from his own family, hoping to fall smoothly into Kurt’s. No matter how welcoming Kurt and Rachel have been to him and Quinn, it has to be nerve wracking. Quinn’s already had a year in LA to adjust and, well, she’s not meeting her boyfriend’s family for the first time either.

When they pull up, they sit in the car for a moment, Kurt turning to face both of them. “Finn will probably say something stupid or offensive within five minutes of meeting you, probably both, but I promise he means well. Carole’s a hugger, so watch out for the incoming, and I _swear_ you have nothing to worry about with my father.”

Quinn clears her throat, pulling her coat and scarf tightly around her. “I’m going to grab something out of the trunk and give you two a minute. I figure we can leave most of the luggage for later, but …”

Kurt gives her a grateful smile, popping the trunk open with a push of the button under the steering wheel. “Sorry, I know I’m being … absurd,” Blaine says the moment Quinn is outside.

“No, you’re not. I can’t imagine how I would be feeling if I had to meet your parents. Actually, I’d probably be full of rage for what they made you feel and the preemptive unacceptance.” Kurt smiles gently at Blaine, who finally returns it.

“Okay, okay … it could definitely be worse. Thank you.” He leans across the console to kiss Kurt quickly, and if they had any thoughts about prolonging it, those thoughts are cut short by the loud closing of the trunk. 

“Did he pep talk you into it, B?” Quinn teases once they got out. Kurt notices a blush start to form on Blaine’s cheeks and he swats at her with the ends of his scarf. Kurt suddenly wonders how often Quinn ribs on him at home when they’re alone - she really is just like an older sister to him. 

Carole is the one who answers the door, and sure enough, she’s hugging Blaine and Quinn before Kurt even has a chance to introduce them properly. Finn’s right behind, and to his surprise, he wraps Kurt up in a big bear hug himself, and his dad is waiting in the wings. He hasn’t seen his dad enough in the past year - he took Amtrak down to DC a few weekends to celebrate birthdays and came back to Ohio for a week over the summer - but it’s been over six months and he doesn’t know how the time’s passed so quickly. His dad looks exactly the same, but he can tell from his dad’s face that he doesn’t. 

“Well, come here already,” he says gruffly, laughing as he pulls Kurt into a hug of his own before telling Kurt to introduce him to the stragglers he brought along. Burt’s smile is kind and Blaine doesn’t come off as too nervous and Finn fails to embarrass himself. It’s a rousing success.

Everyone helps empty the car, and once they’re back inside, Carole tells Quinn how the couch in the den pulls out and she left quilts and pillows for her, but if she needs more, the linen closet is next to the bathroom upstairs. The four guys stand in the living room as they duck into the den, figuring out which bags belong to who and leaving the bag of presents next to the beautifully decorated tree (Carole did such a nice job - Kurt trained her well in the two years he lived here). Blaine fidgets with his suitcase for a moment before saying quietly, “Um. So, am I sleeping on this couch?”

Burt shoots Kurt a look, eyebrows raised as if to ask _is this kid for real?_ and he can tell Finn is trying to hold back his laughter. “Blaine, you’re staying upstairs in my room, it’s okay.” Blaine starts stuttering about rules and how he would _never_ want to impose under someone’s roof, and finally, Burt cuts him off.

“Blaine,” he says, walking over closer to both of them and dropping his voice, because seriously, Finn is about five seconds from losing it. “That’s - that’s awful nice of you, but you’re gonna be here a week, and you’ll just be in the way down here. I trust Kurt and from what I know about you, I don’t have anything to worry about.” Blaine’s brow furrows for a moment, unsure what Burt means, and Burt looks him in the eye and claps him on the shoulder. “ _I mean_ , you’re a good kid, so I trust you just like Kurt. Plus, the fact that you look scared shitless right now pretty much tells me you’re not gonna do anything stupid.”

That gets Blaine to laugh, ducking his head. “Thanks, Mr. Hummel. I mean. Burt. I’ll get that right before we leave,” he promises, though Kurt has his doubts. Kurt grabs Blaine’s hand and mentions they’re going to take their things upstairs, because he knows Finn needs a good chuckle and he’d rather Blaine not see it. 

“I’m sorry,” Blaine breathes out the second they’re behind Kurt’s bedroom door, and Kurt can’t help it. He pulls him close as he drops his suitcases to the floor, hands roaming up the planes of his back and kissing him far more intensely than he should for someone who just had a conversation with his father about _trust_.

“Don’t you dare apologize,” he murmurs against Blaine’s lips. “You are _actually_ the cutest ever and I don’t know how I ever found you.”

“I’m really glad Quinn saw that ad for the apartment on Craigslist,” Blaine sighs, opening his mouth just slightly for their next kiss, and Kurt is unable to resist temptation. He’s been stuck in a car all day for far too long with too much pent up energy and he knows they have to go back downstairs and eat dinner, but he licks his way into Blaine’s mouth anyway. He knows it’s a dirty trick, because it drives Blaine crazy (Blaine lets out the tiniest whimper each time he does it that makes Kurt’s insides twist up hotly, deliciously, _oh god_ ) and he’s only started doing it recently. Blaine’s tongue has stayed firmly in his own mouth and Kurt hopes maybe this week, now that they have access to some actual _privacy_ , he can coax it over to his a little. He has no doubt Blaine’s tongue will be very talented once he learns how to put it to good use.

God, he’s not only broken his dad’s trust in the last five minutes, he’s a bit of a pervert too. Kurt just has a really hot boyfriend, okay?

He hates himself for pulling away but if he doesn’t, they’ll never stop. “We should, um, unpack a little. And cool down,” Kurt says with a laugh, pressing his face against Blaine’s neck, which is still covered with his scarf. They still have their coats on as well. No wonder he’s burning up. 

“At least take your outerwear off first,” Blaine says with a smirk, unwinding Kurt’s scarf from his neck slowly, which really isn’t doing anything to help him cool down. It’s just helping him picture Blaine removing _all_ of his clothes once he’s done with the scarf. He takes the scarf from Blaine’s hands and picks up the suitcases from where they’ve scattered on his floor, thinking of how Quinn is probably alone downstairs with Finn, unless Carole’s rescued her to help with dinner - and if that’s not a good enough reason to hurry, he’s not sure what is.

***

The first night, they are too exhausted to do anything but sleep, but it’s comforting to wake up in the morning next to Blaine. Blaine’s up before him, watching him with such reverence, the second Kurt opens his eyes, he promptly shuts them, laughing bashfully and rolling away. “You haven’t been up long, have you?” he asks, hoping Blaine slept well. Sure, they slept in the same bed once in the loft, but this feels different - immersing him into his old life before New York, letting Blaine see something hiding beneath all of that, something _real_.

“Mmm, no,” Blaine answers, chasing Kurt across the bed so fast his words tickle the back of his neck. Kurt’s pretty sure he’s lying. 

They don’t do much of anything on Sunday aside from all trek to the grocery store to buy things for their holiday meal, which Quinn insists on helping Carole and Kurt make. They pick up cookie supplies as well and spend the rest of the afternoon and night baking batches of assorted favorites. Kurt almost worries they’ll go to waste and then he remembers Finn is around. 

They turn in early since Carole still has to work Monday and Tuesday and Burt’s going into the shop with Finn to check on things since he’s in town. Kurt, Blaine and Quinn are meeting Mercedes and Rachel at the mall for a little last minute shopping and lunch, so they figure there’s no use in staying up much later either. “Are you having fun?” Kurt asks as they slip under the covers together, socked feet drifting over each other as they snuggle under.

“I am. Quinn is too, she told me. I - I’m really glad you asked us. This is much better than being in New York without you for a week.” He smiles and bridges the gap between them to kiss Kurt gently, Kurt humming into the kiss. They trade kisses for a few minutes, Kurt trying to turn up the volume a few times but Blaine slowing them back down, and finally, he cuts them off with an exasperated sigh, flinging himself back against the pillows. “ _Kurt!_ ”

“Is this about what my dad said?” Blaine stares at him blankly and says nothing, and Kurt takes the opportunity to lay back against the pillows himself. “I’m going to take a gander and guess that your parents never talked to you about sex. When I was sixteen, I had a really awkward conversation with my dad about sex, but the gist of it was he wanted me to be safe and he wanted me to wait for someone I … cared for.” Kurt doesn’t use the word love, because he certainly didn’t love any of his ex-boyfriends, and it’s far too soon to be thinking about that with Blaine. (Even if he is. Tiny naggings at the back of his mind that he tells to shut up.)

“My point is, we could probably be having sex in here, and as long as we were quiet and safe and he didn’t walk in on us, he wouldn’t care. That’s all he meant by trusting us to not be stupid. And I’m sorry, I’m not going to sleep in the same bed with you for a week and not make out with you at _all_ ,” he quips, a grin starting to form on his lips, and he can see Blaine’s resolve starting to crumble. “I mean, unless you don’t want to. But it’s been a while since we’ve had any time alone, and I don’t want you to think you have to be afraid of my dad.” 

“O-okay,” Blaine decides with a shaky breath. “Okay, good, because I thought it was going to be really hard to sleep next to you and barely kiss you too, oh Kurt.”

It didn’t take much to convince Blaine to change his mind. Maybe Kurt should have a little fun with that. “I don’t know,” Kurt replies playfully. “Now I’m not so sure. I’m not convinced you want to do this. I think maybe you were using my dad as an excuse.” His tone is light and teasing, and he hopes Blaine catches on.

“What? Kurt, I would never - _oh_ ,” he says when he gets it, when everything clicks. “Um. What can I do to convince you otherwise?” Blaine’s eyes are so impossibly wide and his lips are so full and pink, Kurt wants to groan at just how perfectly amazing his boyfriend looks. 

“I’m sure you could figure something out.” Kurt’s voice comes out low from suppressing his groan, and Blaine actually looks like he’s going to pounce on him. He crawls over to where Kurt is lying on the pillows, hovering over him, and reaches down to cup his cheek. “Please, Blaine,” Kurt whispers before Blaine kisses him harder than he ever has before. Kurt was going to play it up for a bit and not kiss back, tease him as long as possible, but Blaine knocked the wind out of him on the very first try and he has no choice. Kurt arches his neck up, suddenly hungry for it, as if something’s been ignited within him and he can’t get enough of Blaine’s mouth, and he drops his own lips open more, deepening the kiss. 

Blaine’s tongue tentatively strokes its way into Kurt’s mouth, but just as soon as it’s there it’s gone again, and Kurt can’t hold back a groan at the loss. Everything goes still for a moment and both sets of eyes flutter open and lock, Blaine’s searching Kurt’s as if he’s wondering if he did that right. Kurt’s the one that breaks, closing his eyes and resuming the kiss, trying to keep his mouth soft and pliant for Blaine. He finally tries again, and this time, Kurt strokes his own tongue alongside Blaine’s, and he hears Blaine breathe in sharply through his nose when he does. It’s a little messy as they keep going, tongues attempting to move in unison and getting a little tangled in the process, but who cares? 

“Okay? Was that, I mean,” Blaine asks as he moves further downward, trailing his wet lips down the dip in Kurt’s chin and then further down over his Adam’s apple.

“Oh - so okay, Blaine.” He gasps as Blaine continues to kiss along his neck, bringing the back of his hand up to wipe the corners of his mouth. They don’t normally do this since Kurt’s skin is far more sensitive than Blaine’s (and Blaine’s mouth is far less delicate), but Kurt has a whole collection of silk scarves from high school hiding in his closet he wouldn’t mind an excuse to revisit if needed. 

He’s going to have to make Blaine stop soon though, because he’s already fully hard in his pajama pants, and while he has excellent self control, it’s not like he can get himself off once Blaine leaves like he can back in New York. He has to sleep in the same bed as him. It doesn’t help that Kurt’s pajamas are more revealing than his usual date clothes, and Blaine is nosing at Kurt’s thin cotton sweatshirt and kissing along his collarbone, which is something that drives Kurt _mad_. Blaine shifts above him as he does it, and it occurs to Kurt he’s had to hold himself up for a pretty long time, so it’s not all that surprising when his arms give out and he falls with a soft _oof_ against Kurt’s chest. 

Their legs also tangle together, and the tip of Blaine’s cock is brushing his hip and his own is wedged against Blaine’s thigh. He takes a moment to feel Blaine against him before he says anything - he knows he turns Blaine on, of course, but feeling him hard against his hip is different and oh, how Kurt wants more right now, but he knows they can’t, and he wouldn’t change his mind even if Blaine did too. “Kurt - Kurt, I can feel your -”

“Yeah, yeah, I can feel you too. You feel _so_ amazing,” Kurt blurts out without thinking, and a blush begins to form on Blaine’s cheeks. “I’m sorry - but - _it’s true_. Just - just because we’re not ready for anything else yet - that doesn’t mean you have to hide this.”

“Y-yeah? It’s not - too much?” Blaine seems distracted, probably because he still can’t believe Kurt’s cock is touching his thigh, and Kurt can’t really blame him.

“I - I think right now it’s a little too much,” Kurt teases, and Blaine laughs, climbing off of him and putting a little bit of distance between them. “Phew. You have me seriously convinced, Blaine Anderson. Make outs for the rest of the week.”

Blaine laughs again, and his smile is so large, the corners of his eyes crinkle up. “You are the best boyfriend ever,” he says with a sigh, and Kurt blows hot air at him.

“You’re just saying that because I’m the _only_ boyfriend ever,” Kurt deflects, but he’s grinning as he reaches across Blaine to turn out the lamp on the nightstand. He’ll settle for that, because he thinks the same about Blaine, and last he checked, Blaine wasn’t his only boyfriend ever.

***

If Burt, Carole, and Finn have any gripes about starting their Christmas festivities late because Blaine and Quinn are going to church with Mercedes, they don’t let on to Kurt, thankfully. Maybe everyone is grateful for the late wake up call, as opposed to getting up at six am when Finn was a kid at least, from the stories he’s heard (Kurt at least waited until eight). Carole is going to cook breakfast, and then they’ll do presents once Blaine and Quinn are back, and then have a late lunch before fighting over which Christmas movie to watch. Kurt’s pretty sure once Finn finds out Blaine and Quinn haven’t seen ‘Christmas Vacation,’ he’ll be vetoing everything else and climbing over them all to get to the DVD player. 

Kurt sets an alarm for nine, since the service at Mercedes’ church is at eleven, and when he wakes up, he realizes that the bed is empty. Blaine is standing at Kurt’s window, looking out in awe, and he finally turns back to Kurt. “Merry Christmas, Kurt. It’s - it’s _snowing_.”

“Blaine, have you never seen snow before?” Kurt asks, climbing out of bed and standing behind him. It’s really coming down and Kurt hasn’t really thought about it before, but growing up in California probably never afforded him the opportunity.

Blaine shakes his head. “We never took any winter vacations to places that had snow. The Fabrays went skiing once, but we didn’t go that year, and the few times it’s snowed in New York have been at night and we’ve woken up to that dirty slush.”

Kurt wraps his arms tightly around Blaine’s waist and hooks his chin over Blaine’s shoulder looking up at him as he stares out the glass in amazement, the front yard already covered in a thick blanket of white. “Merry Christmas, Blaine,” he whispers as they stare out into their picture-perfect moment. 

He finally tears Blaine away from the window and gets him moving towards the shower, calling Mercedes and wishing her a merry Christmas as well, but really asking if she can come and pick Quinn and Blaine up. They were just going to meet her at the church but he doesn’t want Blaine driving the rental car in the snow. He finds Carole already in the kitchen, perusing the fridge, and steals the carton of eggs to scramble some for Quinn and Blaine before they leave, giving her a quick hug as he does. 

Blaine comes down the stairs looking adorable in a warm grey sweater and navy slacks, with his requisite white button down and skinny black tie. This one has a stripe of red on the side and Kurt doesn’t think he’s seen it before, but there’s also red and navy stripes on the collar of his sweater, and he looks festive. Quinn emerges from the den in a dusty blue sweater dress and plaid tights and black boots and Kurt sees Blaine pull her into a warm embrace out of the corner of his eye as he pops bread in the toaster. 

It’s a bit of a flurry as Mercedes shows up and there’s more hugs and greetings and catching up with Carole and a sleepy-eyed Finn who managed to make his way down the stairs. Kurt watches from the doorway as Blaine and Quinn walk to Mercedes’ car and he’s glad he did, because Blaine bends down to touch the snow in the driveway and grins back at him. 

Carole goes all out for breakfast, to Finn and Burt’s delight, and they talk about the shop a lot, things that they haven’t steered away from on purpose in front of Blaine and Quinn, but things that obviously would have been boring for them to listen to, not knowing the workings of Hummel Tire and Lube. 

Finn offers to do the dishes, and Kurt says he’ll help, but Carole shoos him away, handing him a cup of coffee and telling him to spend some alone time with his dad. They head out to the living room, Kurt on the couch and his dad in his recliner, and Kurt realizes this is the first time all week they’ve had any time alone together. 

“New York. It’s been good to you,” Burt says finally, once Kurt is situated on the couch, and Kurt laughs into his coffee mug. 

“I like to think so. I miss you guys - I miss it here more than I thought I would, I’m not going to lie - but it’s where I belong. Vogue is where I feel like I’m meant to be, and Blaine -” Kurt cuts off then, feeling himself blush, paying attention to his coffee instead of continuing.

“He’s good for you too. I wasn’t sure what kind of guy you’d find out there with they way they portray all those crazy city kids on TV, and - well, Blaine’s not like them,” he says with a wry smile.

“No, no he’s not.” Kurt lets himself smile a little himself because never in a million years did he think he could find someone like Blaine, let alone in New York City, and certainly not in the loft right next door. 

“I’m glad he’s not. He keeps you grounded. I can still see my Kurt in there, even if you don’t look like him very much anymore.” Burt winks and Kurt scoffs at him.

“I haven’t been gone that long, Dad. I saw you six months ago!” He sips his coffee as an excuse, but Burt’s still looking at him with amusement.

“Seven and a half. It doesn’t matter. Soon I won’t even be able to get you home for Christmas.” Kurt looks up from his coffee mug and over at his father, who’s trying hard not to look sad, he can tell. He’s trying to play it off. Growing up and moving on, it’s a part of life, and he knows his dad is proud of him, immensely so, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t wish things were different sometimes. 

“Incorrect. I will _always_ come home for Christmas. No matter what.” He and Burt share a smile, and he’s absolutely telling the truth. Once Blaine and Quinn come back, the house will be full of just about everyone in his life that he holds dear, and he can’t imagine a better way to spend the holidays, now or ever.


	7. Chapter 7

Kurt finally excuses himself to go take a shower after he and his dad have talked for a while, that way once Blaine and Quinn return they don’t have to wait too long to start opening presents, even though he knows Finn and Burt still have to take showers after him - they certainly won’t need as much time to get dressed. 

Kurt walks into the bedroom after his shower already dressed in his charcoal pants and hunter green button down, the skinny black tie coordinating nicely (he picked it out with Blaine in mind), to find Blaine already back, sitting on the edge of his bed. “Wow, Kurt,” he murmurs when Kurt comes into view, his eyes growing wide, Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows thickly. “You look … amazing.”

“Thanks,” Kurt replies, grinning and walking over to him, waiting for Blaine to match it, but he doesn’t, he just casts his eyes downward and tentatively traces a finger over the notches at the waistband of Kurt’s pants, the invisible line they’ve set for each other. “Hey. What are you thinking?” he asks, his voice soft and a little vulnerable. 

Blaine yanks his hand back immediately, as if Kurt’s pants are going to burn him, looking as if he’s unsure if he should say anything. Kurt places a finger under his chin, tilting it upwards to capture his lips in a reassuring kiss, whispering, “You know you can tell me anything, right?” when they break.

Blaine worries his lip, pausing before finally saying, “Sometimes – sometimes you look so good I have to actually stop myself, because I want to reach out and touch you. _Everywhere_ , oh, oh –”

Kurt reaches out for Blaine’s hands, hanging between them as if he doesn’t know what to do with them now that he’s pulled them away and slowly brings them back to his body, placing his palms flat against his hips. He leaves Blaine’s hands there, feeling his fingertips dig into his skin underneath his pants, reaching up to kiss Blaine again. It’s not soft and reassuring like before, but wanton, hungry, and if it weren’t twelve forty-five on Christmas day, Kurt would throw Blaine back on the bed and let him touch him everywhere, anywhere he wanted. 

“You - whenever you’re ready for anything more than kissing, you just have to tell me, remember? Is this you telling me?” Kurt pants against Blaine’s lips, and Blaine runs a palm down Kurt’s thigh, below the belt for sure, but still decidedly safe. He whines when Blaine pulls far enough away to look Kurt in the eye, pupils blown wide and lips still parted. 

“I - I don’t -” Blaine starts to say, but doesn’t continue, dropping his head and looking down towards his fingers still kneading into Kurt’s thigh.

“Blaine, it doesn’t have to be some big thing,” Kurt whispers, leaning back in to kiss him soft and slow once more, resting their foreheads together. “Remember? Being with someone you care about. I care more about you than anything, _more than anyone_ , and I want to make you feel so good, but only when you’re ready. Think about it, okay? We’ll talk later tonight, when we’re alone, because we really should get back downstairs.”

“Y-yeah. Yes.” Blaine removes his hand from Kurt’s thigh but leaves it hovering just above for a moment as if he really needs to convince himself. “ _Yes_ , of course, sorry. Tonight.” He offers him a sheepish smile and Kurt kisses his temple before backing away to straighten his clothes in the mirror. 

When they head downstairs, Kurt’s delighted to see that Carole’s been sneaky, adding two more stockings to the mantle with Blaine and Quinn’s names on them while they were out. They’re filled with candy and silly toys and gift cards, and Finn gets some tiny hand-held Nerf gun that Kurt swears is going to take an eye out, despite being operated by a twenty year old man who was in the army for a few weeks (maybe the fact that he shot himself in the leg is a good indication of his worries). 

Kurt gets Blaine more bow ties and thanks to one of Rachel’s old NYADA friends who is now a swing for the show, tickets to go see ‘Newsies’ next month since Blaine has never really seen a Broadway show - at least not on Broadway. Blaine gets Kurt a sleek leather portfolio since he mentioned sketching and taking work notes on his tablet is sometimes a pain, complete with a sketchbook with thick paper and a set of pencils inside. It’s the same size as his tablet so they’ll stack nicely in his satchel, and while he’s explaining all of the features of a _portfolio_ , for crying out loud, Kurt can’t stop grinning at how much thought he put into it. There’s even his initials, KH, embossed in the corner of the rich mahogany leather. 

Their late lunch is really dinner by the time it’s all prepared, but it’s lovely, and true to form, Finn does make them watch ‘Christmas Vacation’ followed by ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol,’ which both Quinn and Blaine have actually seen. There’s not enough room on the couch for everyone, so Finn takes the recliner, and Burt, Carole and Quinn all squeeze on the couch. Kurt and Blaine set up blankets and pillows to the side of the couch, near the TV, and Kurt knows Burt and Carole can see them out of the corner of their eyes, cuddling as the movies play, but he has no qualms about any of it. He catches his dad watching them and grinning around the time Clark is stuck in the attic, and he turns his head slightly to grin back at him. 

It’s after ten by the time the movies are over, and Burt and Carole decide to turn in. Blaine decides he’s going to head up and take a shower, and once he’s gone, Finn starts to fidget, and says, “I, uh, I’m gonna head out for a bit. I won’t be gone long.”

The way he’s acting, he’s obviously hiding something, and the only thing Kurt would care about is Rachel. Kurt sighs. “Tell Rachel hello, Finn. Don’t be stupid for once, okay?” 

Finn turns back from the hallway, gaping and stuttering, and Quinn covers her mouth with her hand primly to hide her laughter. Kurt rolls his eyes and hisses at him to get out, waving his hands at him to shoo him out the door. “Have they, ah … Rachel’s told me a little,” Quinn says diplomatically.

“It’s a long and tortuous tale,” Kurt says as he heaves another sigh. “Enough about them. Did you have a good Christmas? Ohio treating you right?”

She leans over and hugs Kurt tightly as he sits down on the couch next to her. “It’s the best Christmas I’ve had in a long time, Kurt. Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“I didn’t want to ask Blaine in case he hadn’t but … have you talked to Cooper today? Either of you?” Cooper’s spending the day with the Andersons. Cooper would always have Blaine’s back but for appearances, for his job, he’ll always have to side with their parents on the surface. He knows it hurts Blaine even if it doesn’t really mean anything, but he needs to show up to church on Christmas day with his parents and grandparents like he’s part of a big, loving family, and smile and act the part. 

Thankfully, Quinn nods. “He called us just as we got out of our service here. They talked for a bit - I don’t know what they said. When I talked to Cooper, he acted like everything was fine. He probably won’t be back out this way until spring.” There’s a hint of something in her voice, something that makes Kurt wonder if her relationship with Cooper has always been strictly platonic, and she finally clears her throat. “I think I’m going to head to bed as well. It’s been a long day. Tell Blaine good night for me?” Kurt gives her one last hug before heading up the stairs to his bedroom.

Kurt sets all of their presents in a corner - there’s a lot of socks. Carole always buys socks, so Blaine ended up with some too, fluffy ones to sleep in as well as nicer, dress socks - before heading to where he has his suitcases set up to pull out his pajamas. He debates changing, but figures Blaine will be back soon and should just wait, setting his clothes on the desk and sitting down on the edge of the bed, checking the messages on his phone to pass the time. 

He’s all set to get up and head to the bathroom himself once he hears the door open, but makes no motion to move off the bed when he realizes Blaine’s walked in wearing only a towel and his sleeveless undershirt. “Sorry, I, um, forgot to grab clothes. I thought you might not be up here yet.” He averts his eyes, heading quickly to his suitcase, and Kurt stares at his broad shoulders that lead down into a tiny waist, _so much skin at once that could be more_ , and he has to stop him. 

“Wait,” he says, his voice coming out shaky as he jumps up off the bed, rushing to Blaine’s side. Blaine’s chest reveals a light dusting of hair peeking out over his undershirt that Kurt wants to run his hands over and he realizes he hasn’t said anything else, Blaine staring at him expectantly and probably weirded out because he’s probably naked under his towel and Kurt is _oogling_. “You know that feeling you were talking about earlier? I feel that, ah, times five right now, did you um, maybe think about that at all? Because you can put clothes on if you want, but I really, really don’t want you to.”

“Y-yeah?” Blaine asks shakily as Kurt runs a hand tentatively down his arm, shoulder to bicep to elbow to wrist, because he hasn’t even seen Blaine in a short-sleeved shirt in months, let alone something this revealing _ever_. Kurt nods slowly, his eyes still transfixed on Blaine’s arm, and he glances up at him to prove his point. “Okay. _Okay_.”

“You sure? I want you to be sure.” Kurt brings Blaine’s hand to his mouth where he’s still holding his wrist and kisses his fingertips, featherlight. It’s Blaine’s turn to nod and he covers Kurt’s mouth with his own, making no mistake about what he wants when he kisses him, murmuring “Let’s get in bed.”

Kurt untucks his shirt as they move, stealing kisses as they head towards it. His fingers aren’t working fast enough unbuttoning the buttons and Blaine is tugging his tie loose, and Kurt could groan embarrassingly just from that. Kurt’s not wearing an undershirt, so once the tie is over his head and the shirt is shrugged off his shoulders, he’s suddenly wearing fewer clothes than Blaine. “Oh … _Kurt_ ,” Blaine breathes out, and Kurt sits down on the edge of the bed to pull off his socks. 

“Are - are you wearing anything underneath here?” Kurt asks, tugging at where the towel is looped closed; not enough to undo it, just enough to let Blaine know what he’s talking about. 

Blaine nods again, just barely, looking down at Kurt with hooded lids. “I - I didn’t want to be naked in your hallway. I put my underwear back on.”

Kurt grins at _naked in your hallway_ , because Blaine is about to be naked in his _bedroom_. He undoes the towel for real this time, letting it pool on the floor, revealing red briefs underneath. “How festive,” Kurt says with another grin, and Blaine blushes as red as his drawers. 

“I didn’t realize anyone would see,” Blaine mumbles, and Kurt stands up, because being eye level with Blaine’s crotch is just making his mouth water and there’s no room for that tonight. He noticed the outline of Blaine’s cock in them when he was down there - Blaine’s half-hard _already_ \- staring won’t help matters. Besides, he’s still in his pants.

“I like them,” Kurt says, kissing Blaine until he can feel him start to smile. “It’s like you’re my last present of the night.”

“Does that mean you’re my present?” Blaine asks cheekily, teeth grazing Kurt’s bottom lip as he does it, and Kurt humms. 

“Indeed. I could make a cheesy joke about you taking my pants off, but I’m just going to unbutton them, okay?” He lets them fall to the floor, kicking them far enough away so they don’t get damp mingling with the towel. He tries to stand still as Blaine’s eyes drift down to his own dark grey briefs, letting him stare his fill before he runs his hands up under Blaine’s undershirt, lifting it up over his head and tossing it to the ground with the rest of his clothes. 

“Come on,” Kurt whispers, turning and crawling up into the bed, trying not to stall too much, though he knows Blaine is probably staring at him on the bed since he hasn’t joined him. Before he gets to the pillows, though, he feels the bed dip, and Blaine’s beside him before he knows it. 

“Can I -” Blaine asks, his hand hovering over Kurt’s ribcage as he rolls on his side towards him, and he looks up at Kurt expectantly. Kurt surges forward, fusing their lips together, only breaking contact to murmur, “You don’t have to ask. You can touch me wherever you want.”

So, Blaine grabs at Kurt’s ribs, and Kurt grips at Blaine’s waist, and he’s probably digging too hard with his fingers as they kiss frantically, but they can’t keep their hands off of each other, roaming up their torsos. Their other hands are trapped between them, the hardship of laying on their sides, so Kurt nudges Blaine onto his back with his fingers. “Much better,” Kurt whispers harshly in Blaine’s ear as he climbs over him, and Blaine arches against him as he teases his earlobe with his tongue. His cock brushes against Kurt’s hip in the process, and he’s so hard already, and Kurt hasn’t even _done_ anything yet. 

Kurt wonders how long he can get away with drawing this out, because he wants to kiss Blaine _all over_ , so he doesn’t delay, hurrying along, down Blaine’s neck to uncharted territory, down his chest. He looks up at Blaine as he runs his lips down his collarbone, and Blaine is watching him, eyes impossibly wide. Blaine’s hands are gripping him anywhere he can reach, his shoulder, the side of his neck, tangling in his hair. When Kurt continues down, teeth grazing over a nipple in passing, Blaine chants out a steady, stuttering stream of _oh_ s, and Kurt glances up to see Blaine’s hands fisting in the sheets, no longer grabbing at his skin.

“Good?” he asks, flattening his tongue against the nub beginning to form, and he sees Blaine biting down on his lip out of the corner of his eye, not permitting himself to answer aside from a quick nod of his head. He brings his mouth over to Blaine’s other nipple to tease it, his fingertips teasing the one his mouth just left as Blaine gasps above him. He runs his hands down the hair on Blaine’s stomach, still soft from his shower, and Kurt wants to nuzzle his face in it, lick all the way down the waistband of Blaine’s briefs, but he knows he’s teased far too much already from the way Blaine is writhing beneath him. 

Kurt straddles Blaine’s torso, leaning down to bring their lips together, and when Kurt pulls away, getting ready to move further down, because he wants to feel his cock against Blaine’s _this instant_ , he hesitates because of the way Blaine is grappling at his waist and staring at his crotch. “I - I know you said not to ask b-but, _please_ -”

Blaine wants to touch him. Kurt nods shlyly, nudging Blaine’s hand further downward with his own, and when Blaine’s fingers cup around him, he can’t help but groan and dig his fingers into Blaine’s shoulder and lean further into the touch. “ _Blaine_ ,” he exhales, a sigh around his name, and Blaine’s hand is squeezing around him and okay, maybe he doesn’t have much stamina in him either. 

“Here,” he breathes out, regrettably backing away from Blaine’s hand, but getting them both off will be better, he knows. He runs the heel of his own hand over the outline of Blaine’s cock in his bright red briefs, Blaine moaning in response, before straddling Blaine’s thighs and slotting everything in place just right. Blaine gasps loudly when their cocks finally line up against each other, Kurt sighing, “Oh, _yes_ ,” leaning down to kiss Blaine once more and create more delicious friction between them.

Kurt rolls his hips as he continues to lick his way into Blaine’s mouth, and Blaine’s trying to keep up with kissing back. His hands find the swell of Kurt’s ass as Kurt rocks against him, and Kurt growls against his mouth, causing Blaine to grip the soft flesh even tighter. He pulls at the waistband of Kurt’s briefs, tugging them down, and panting, “C-can we - can we take these off?”

Kurt lets Blaine maneuver the underwear out of the way, down his thighs enough so his cock springs free, and Blaine just stares, transfixed at the sight. Kurt takes the opportunity to pull Blaine’s own briefs down, watching Blaine’s own cock as it curves towards his stomach, and he can’t stare any longer, reaching out for it and pulling the moisture at the tip down the length. “ _Oh my … Kurt_.” There’s a garbled moan right before Kurt’s name, as if Blaine’s trying not to swear, and Kurt bites down on his own lip to hold back a grin. He does the same to his own dick, delighting in the way Blaine watches, because he’s pretty sure there’s no longer lube in his bedside drawer from when he used to jerk off when he lived here - he destroyed that evidence years ago.

He resumes his former position, rolling his hips back down against Blaine, only this time, no fabric separating them, only skin on skin. He tries to kiss Blaine, who throws his head back against the pillows instead, his eyes screwing shut, so Kurt nuzzles in along his neck. “ _Kurt_. O-oh, oh, Kurt, you feel so good.”

“I know, I know, you too,” Kurt chants into his skin as he grinds downward. “Don’t hold back, let me see you,” he adds, reaching up to push Blaine’s hair out of his face (he must have _really_ been flustered to go so easy on the gel earlier), and Blaine’s eyes flutter open. Kurt’s eyes meet his, and for that moment, nothing else matters, just him and Blaine and this moment they’re sharing, this moment that Blaine chose to share _with him_ , and before Kurt can kiss him again, his orgasm hits, so different from their accidental moment so many weeks before. There’s no hiding now, no shame or embarrassment, just joy and love and, god, Kurt’s so shallow for thinking it, but Blaine’s really, really stunning when he comes. 

Kurt slows momentarily, even though the mess in between them, Blaine’s come all over his own cock and up his stomach, is only egging him on. He waits until Blaine looks up at him from underneath his eyelashes, murmuring, “What can I do … for you?” His hips stutter forward shakily again and he can’t help it, “Oh, go-” slips out of his mouth before he stops himself, grumbling against Blaine’s shoulder instead of finishing. 

“Hey, you shouldn’t hold back on me either. You _really shouldn’t_.” The tone of Blaine’s voice is low and pulling Kurt’s insides impossibly tighter, and he whispers _fuck_ without thinking. Blaine’s eyes grow giant and he surges forward to kiss Kurt and Kurt really should take his own advice more often. “I - I really want to make you come.” The words ghost against Kurt’s lips, and Kurt gasps against Blaine’s mouth as his swimming head tries to form a response. 

“Bring your hand back where it was,” he replies, whining when Blaine’s palm grips his ass firmly. He grinds back against it and then forward again before nipping at Blaine’s bottom lip and muttering, “And keep kissing me.”

That’s really all it takes, because Kurt only thrusts against Blaine a few times before his own orgasm hits, crying out against Blaine’s jaw because their lips miss the mark. Blaine kisses his cheek instead, his fingertips digging into his skin and pulling him close as his body spasms and jerks and Kurt rolls off to the side once he’s done, as not to crush Blaine, but keeps their faces close to keep kissing him. God, he could kiss Blaine _forever_. Maybe he just will.

“You okay?” he finally asks afterwards as silence hangs in the air, his face tucked against the crook of Blaine’s neck, as his stupid insecurities are getting the best of him. He knows he said it didn’t have to be a big deal, but now, afterwards, it seems like it was, for Blaine, for them. 

“Amazing,” Blaine whispers into Kurt’s hair, before repeating it against his temple. “Everything was amazing. _You’re_ amazing.” 

“I - before we got together, I honestly wasn’t sure how all of this would work,” Kurt says, laughing lightly against Blaine’s skin.

“Kurt Hummel, are you just with me for my body? The truth finally comes out,” Blaine teases, and his breath ruffles Kurt’s hair as he laughs himself.

“Shut up.” His head lolls over to the pillow and he brushes a hand across Blaine’s cheek. “You know what I mean. Not just this … well, I mean, this too, sure. I just can’t imagine sitting in class after class growing up, learning how sex is bad and somehow, still getting to this.”

Blaine purses his lips for a moment as if he’s trying to figure out how to explain. “I mean, obviously I can’t wait until I’m married. I can’t even get married in most places. And even then, no one’s going to get pregnant, and that’s what the whole point of all this is supposed to be, right? Plus, the way I look at it, there’s all kinds of things in the bible that aren’t relevant anymore. All kinds of messed up stuff, so really, it’s up to each person to interpret what’s in there for themselves. Most people look to the church to do that, and well, you know how well that worked out for me.”

Kurt has nothing to add, so he kisses Blaine’s cheekbone and waits, letting Blaine ramble. “Like you said, all that mattered was I was with someone I cared about, someone I lo-” 

The air changes, because they both know what Blaine meant to say. Kurt doesn’t know if he should push Blaine, because he feels it too, wants to say it, but what if - Kurt doesn’t want to think about what ifs. Blaine clears his throat, unfortunately moving on, saying, “You don’t give yourself enough credit, you know.”

“What do you mean?” he hums, another brush of his lips against the soft flesh of Blaine’s cheek. 

“That whole story about your dad - Rachel told me before you did. She told me how against organized religion you were and never once have I felt uncomfortable being myself around you. You’ve never made me feel that way. So when you came to me, worried - I truly had _no idea_ you felt like that. You’ve always been so welcoming and kind and open-hearted.”

Kurt ducks his head and laughs lightly, his eyelashes dusting Blaine’s skin, and he murmurs, “What?” He’s laughing, because the first thing that popped into his head was _because that’s love_ , and screw insecurities. He looks up at Blaine, whose brow is furrowed adorably in confusion and he kisses him squarely on the mouth.

_Another leap forward._

“Do you know why? Why none of that matters to me when it did in the past with other people?” Blaine’s looking at him expectantly, and he inhales deeply before breathing out, “Because I _love_ you, and if you’re not ready to say it back, that’s fine, I just - I wanted you to know.”

“ _Kurt_ ,” Blaine replies, his voice thick, and he surges forward to kiss him again. “I - I love you too, I didn’t - well, it doesn’t matter what I thought. I love you so much.” 

The following week when they get home, Rachel goes to a New Year’s Eve party with her NYADA friends and Quinn to one with her Columbia friends. Kurt has invites from coworkers at Vogue, parties he probably shouldn’t turn down (and next year he won’t), but the allure of newfound love is too strong. Next year, they’ll be in a different place, but this year is about starting fresh, starting together, starting out together as one instead of two people drifting along. 

They snuggle on the couch, watching the countdown, and climb to the roof of the building at midnight to catch just a glimpse of fireworks over the bridge in the distance. When Kurt kisses Blaine just after what they assume to be midnight, from the cheers and catcalls in the street, he smiles into it, breathing in Blaine’s aftershave deeply, and he can’t imagine a more perfect start to the year ahead.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has taken longer than the usual - this past week has been a time suck of sickness. Still looking to get this wrapped up next week-ish. Thanks to Kerry for patting me on the head & holding my hand when my brain got scrambled.

January brings cold and snow. Really, nothing like the gorgeous white blankets they enjoyed in Ohio those last few days, but dirty slush and ice that line the streets and make commuting the downright awful. It’s dark and dreary by the time Blaine gets off, both of them mainlining coffee simply to keep warm. Kurt’s thankful he’s regained the full use of his foot over the holiday break because that would just make things even more miserable. He also grows increasingly jealous of Blaine’s midday commute, when the sun is out (or at least the semblance of light), and would rethink the whole waiting after work for Blaine thing if seeing his face at seven-thirty every night didn’t bring him such joy, making him instantly forget the fact that he’s been away from his apartment for twelve hours.

Despite getting to leave the apartment at twelve instead of seven-thirty, the cold’s taking a toll on Blaine as well - he certainly wasn’t used to this in California. It doesn’t help it seems as if he’s growing increasingly frustrated with his job, and one Friday night in late January, he just snaps. “I have no idea what I’m doing,” he laments, dumping his satchel into the booth at Starbucks across from where Kurt is seated, not even saying hello to the baristas behind the counter like usual. “With my life, with _anything_ , I just -”

He collapses into the seat, folding his arms on the table and burying his head into them. Nate behind the cash register catches Kurt’s eye, sending him a worrying glance and holds up a cup. Kurt nods, flashing his card, and Nate just shakes his head, set making Blaine’s soy latte, springing for a venti even. Kurt moves Blaine’s satchel from the other side of the open-ended booth, moving it next to his, and sits down next to him, rubbing at his back.

“Hey,” he says soothingly. “You’re here with me. You’re doing _something_ right.” He continues to rub circles into Blaine’s back, mouthing a ‘thank you’ when Nate brings the latte, and the scent of espresso so close brings Blaine to attention. 

“You - you didn’t have to buy my latte,” Blaine mutters, wrapping his hands around the cup all the same, sighing at the comforting warmth. 

“I didn’t. Tip Nate on the way out if you have any cash. Drink your coffee because coffee makes everything better, at least for a little while,” Kurt says with a smile. “When you’re done, we’ll go to dinner and you’ll tell me all about this and then we’ll go home, okay?” He’s met with a smile, and for the few minutes it takes Blaine to drink enough his latte before they venture out into the cold, he seems to forget his worries.

“I’m sorry,” Blaine says, once they’re outside and bundled back up, walking in the direction of the subway. There’s an Italian place they sometimes stop for pizza and that’ll do for tonight. 

“Don’t be,” Kurt replies, slipping their hands together as they walk and Blaine finishes his coffee, and they don’t speak again until they’re seated in the warmth of the restaurant. “Tell me about your awful day,” he prompts, taking Blaine’s hand again across the table once their waitress is gone.

“It’s not even that today was awful,” Blaine says with a laugh, resting his chin on his other hand propped on the table by his elbow. “It’s just - this whole week - it’s really hit me. Everyone that I’m working with, this is it for them. I’ve been here six months and I have no better idea with what I want to do with my life, this - this was supposed to just be until I figured that out, I didn’t even find a second job, and I don’t even know if I can _be myself_ here -”

Blaine’s starting to get a little worked up, and even though they’re sitting in the corner and the restaurant’s pretty deserted, Kurt feels bad for him in his slightly hysterical state. “Hey. I thought you felt like this was a good match for you.” 

“I - I did,” Blaine admits, sighing and smiling apologetically when the waitress brings their sodas. He sips for a moment before continuing. “The church is supposed to be accepting of gay people, I did some research before I took the job, but - I haven’t seen it. Maybe I just haven’t had the chance. Maybe gay people just don’t _go_ there. But there’s nothing on the bulletin boards, and I’ve made some comments to Amy, trying to test the waters since she’s the youngest out of everyone, and I don’t know that she’s been cold, but -” 

He breaks off with another sigh, stirring the ice in his glass with his straw. “Caroline keeps trying to set me up with her niece. I - I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to get fired - I don’t know that I can _afford_ to get fired, but the whole point of coming here was to stop hiding who I was. I’m so sick of it and I don’t want it anymore.”

Kurt squeezes Blaine’s hand tightly and takes a sip of his own soda before saying, “Okay. _Okay_. Well, this is not your only option. Like you said, this was just the best in you had when you came here. Let’s brainstorm. Why did you want to be a music director? Tell me the most basic reason, deep down.”

“It sounds stupid though,” Blaine says after thinking a moment, and after a pointed glare from Kurt, he continues. “I like helping people. I like making art and helping people, at the same time.”

Kurt can’t hold back his grin at the explanation. “I have the most adorable boyfriend _ever_ ,” he declares, and the waitress reappears with their pizza at that very moment. She winks at him and agrees, setting the tray down, and Blaine looks like he’s about to crawl under the table from embarrassment. 

“Adorableness aside,” Kurt continues a few moments later, getting them back on track once they both have pizza on their plates and the waitress is gone. “Blaine, I’m sure there are plenty of things you can do with your life that combine art and making people’s lives better. Things we can’t even think of. You were going to go to college before all this, right? There are tons of colleges in Manhattan and Brooklyn, maybe you could apply to some of those. Take out some loans like Quinn. You don’t have to know exactly what you’re going to do yet.”

“She certainly doesn’t,” Blaine mutters, and Kurt laughs. Quinn’s only two semesters in and she already changed her major from English Lit to Psychology. “I guess now is the right time to apply for fall, right?”

“I believe it is. You could talk to some guidance counselors too, see what they have to say. Maybe they can lead you in the right direction. Or, maybe they’ll be completely useless and you’ll stumble on something you love completely on your own.” 

Blaine eats his pizza quietly for a bit before pursing his lips and saying, “Thank you for being so rational and letting me freak out about this. I just - I want you to be proud to be with me.”

“I am _always_ so proud to be with you, Blaine Anderson. Don’t you forget it.” They smile over their pepperoni and Kurt thinks Blaine just might believe him.

“I think you should tell Caroline,” Kurt says once they’re safely on the J train to Bushwick, nestled in a seat close together. “Just tell her that her niece isn’t your type and see if she takes the hint.” The corners of his mouth curl up in a grin and their car is thankfully empty, so Blaine leans over to sneak a kiss.

“Caroline may be in her sixties, but she’s smart as a whip, she’d definitely take the hint.” Blaine sighs into his scarf. “I’ll feel her out next week. And, next week in the mornings I’ll research some schools to apply to. Maybe Quinn can even get me a meeting with someone at Columbia to talk to about my options.” 

“Excellent plan,” Kurt replies, curling into his side and hoping their car remains empty as long as possible since it’s too late for rush hour and too early for people to be going out for the night. “Are you excited for our day tomorrow?” 

“You know it,” Blaine answers with a grin so wide, Kurt can feel Blaine’s cheek brush against his. Kurt’s Christmas present of ‘Newsies’ tickets are for the matinee show tomorrow and they’ve planned to make a whole day of it, getting an early dinner afterwards. Rachel is going to Callbacks tomorrow night, which means she should be gone by the time they get home, leaving them hours of alone time in the loft they normally aren’t accustomed to. Kurt can’t imagine a more perfect day if he tries. 

“Me too,” and with that, the seriousness of the week is behind them and the frivolity of the day they’ve planned is what’s ahead, and it’s so, so earned.

***

Since he knows Blaine needs a pick me up, Kurt goes out of his way to make their date extra special. He knocks on the door promptly at noon, so they can stop at the bakery for bagels and coffee before taking the train in, and Quinn answers, hair freshly trimmed and colored, all honey highlighted, not a pink streak in sight.

“Quinn! Your hair! I love it!” Kurt declares, squeezing her and kissing her cheek as he passes her on the way in. The pink started to fade around Christmas, but Kurt thought maybe pastel was a new look she was going for or something. 

“Thanks,” she replies with a smile, patting his shoulder. “I figured a year and a half was long enough. Time to change things up. Blaine will be right out. I sadly couldn’t convince him to wear his appropriate matching hat.” She pouts and walks over to the coffee table, picking the newsboy cap off of it and placing it on her own head.

“It’s a little on the nose, don’t you think?” Kurt hears Blaine’s voice travel from his corner of the loft, finally stepping out. He’s wearing one of the bow ties Kurt got him for Christmas as well, offering Kurt a nervous smile, and Kurt grins himself, walking over to meet him. He plants a quick kiss on Blaine’s lips, despite Quinn watching, and he hopes Blaine doesn’t mind too much. Blaine’s barely blushing when he backs away.

“I have to agree about the cap. Though I’m sure it looks adorable on you. You’ll have to wear it another time.”

Quinn sends them out the door with wishes for a good day and it really, really is. The show is wonderful, of course, but Kurt’s favorite part is watching Blaine’s reactions to everything. How the crowd lining up in the street beforehand makes his face light up, the discussion about how cozy the theater is, the actual joy in his face at intermission as he holds his program like a prized possession. They discuss the show all through dinner at a bistro around the corner, and Kurt thinks he needs to splurge on Broadway tickets for them more often now that his job is a little more cushy. Kurt definitely imagined seeing more shows in the pretend New York life that he designed for himself back in Lima, when in reality, the only shows he saw last year were off-off-Broadway monstrosities Brody scored them tickets to, and Rachel feigning enjoyment for his benefit.

They walk around the city for a bit to ensure Rachel is gone by the time they arrive back home, just around Times Square, which should have lost its magic by now for Kurt, seeing as he’s there every day, but it’s different tonight. It’s different with Blaine, at night all lit up, walking hand in hand. It’s snowing lightly, not enough to stick, thank goodness, so there won’t be a mess or any trouble getting home, just enough for a little bit of magic. They pick up overpriced cupcakes for dessert with handfuls of tourists, but it’s worth it to see Blaine with frosting on his nose, which Kurt kisses off in the street when they’re huddled under an awning. 

By the time they do make it home, it’s after eight, and Rachel is thankfully gone. Even on an early night, Rachel will stay at Callbacks until at least midnight, meaning she won’t get home until after one if the trains are on her side, so they have all the time in the world for once. Since they’ve been back from Ohio, they’ve only had stolen moments when they weren’t quite sure when to expect their roommates back, or even when they did, it wasn’t anything as definite as this - only an hour here or there. Rachel walked in on them once, mid-makeout session, while a movie played on Kurt’s laptop. She was supposed to be out much later, and Kurt was thankful they decided to cover up with a blanket on the couch, since his hand had been shoved down Blaine’s pants when she slid the door open. 

Kurt locks them in, hanging up his coat and scarf, and finds Blaine hovering right behind him. “Finally,” he says, curling himself around Kurt’s back and kissing behind his ear. “Alone at last.”

“Mmm,” Kurt hums, leaning back into Blaine’s touch. “What do you propose we do with this luxury?” 

“I don’t really care as long as we’re naked in your bed,” Blaine whispers against his ear, and Kurt laughs, reaching for his hand to drag him to his corner of the loft. He pulls his curtain closed, just in case, to give them some semblance of privacy, and worries his fingers with Blaine’s bow tie to get things started right after. Fingers move swiftly over each other’s buttons, and Blaine laughs nervously when their hands cross and get tangled, and once they’re down to their underthings, Kurt murmurs, “Let’s just get in bed, I need to kiss you.”

“Not naked yet though,” Blaine points out once Kurt is on his back, lifting up his undershirt and trailing his tongue up Kurt’s stomach. He heads back down, slower this time, taking pause to place kisses along the trail he left in the center of Kurt’s torso and his muscles are twitching under the scrutiny. Blaine’s usually not this brazen, and he’s not quite sure what’s gotten into him, but he’s not complaining. “I just - I’ve been thinking about being able to get you naked again for so long now, Kurt, I -”

When Kurt thinks about it, he supposes they haven’t really been naked since their one night together in Ohio. He was trying to make the sex thing not a big deal - make things spontaneous, whenever they had time, as to not put pressure on Blaine to do anything more than he felt comfortable with, but now he’s wishing he’d planned better, pulled roommate privilege and kicked Rachel out a few nights. He pulls his undershirt up over his head and scrambles his fingers along Blaine’s sides for his own before saying, “Why didn’t you say anything? We could have - before now - oh, _Blaine_.” His thoughts are derailed because Blaine’s found his collarbone and Kurt just can’t concentrate when he’s mouthing at that. 

“I - I don’t know,” Blaine says, suddenly shy again, backing away, and Kurt wraps a hand around his neck to bring their lips together finally.

“Don’t,” he whines, kissing him insistently once more. “Don’t - I want you to tell me what you want, Blaine. Whatever you want, always.” 

“I - I.” Blaine closes his eyes and takes a deep breath to fortify himself as Kurt stares up at him. “I want to kiss you and t-touch you and make you come, oh Kurt, I - I want you so bad.”

Kurt bites the inside of his lip to keep from smiling too much at Blaine’s bluntness. “I want that too. Here, just.” He looks up at Blaine briefly, rolling away to rummage in his nightstand drawer and lose his boxer briefs. “Give me your hand,” he murmurs as he gets back in position underneath Blaine, looking up at him underneath his lashes. He clicks the lube bottle open to dribble some into Blaine’s palm, explaining at his questioning expression, “It, ah, feels better.”

“Like this?” Blaine asks, reaching down to stroke at Kurt’s cock, long and slow, and the pressure is wonderful, and he’s looking down at Kurt with his eyes wide. Kurt gasps against his neck, whining praise and nonsense as Blaine finds his footing and his strokes become more sure. He falls on his side to get closer to Kurt, licking at his mouth and jaw as his hand twists, the lube making everything perfectly slick, and Kurt reaches out for him, pulling Blaine’s own briefs down over the swell of his ass, the lone piece of clothing that remains, and gripping tightly, pulling him closer still. 

“J-just like that, just -” He cuts off with a gasp as he feels the pressure building faster, ducking against Blaine’s chest to watch how his cock disappears and reappears through the grip of Blaine’s fist, entranced for far too long, lost in the repetitive back and forth of it, over and over and over again. “You’re - _so good_ , Blaine, so -”

“Yeah?” he breathes against Kurt’s hair, steadily pumping, and Kurt cries out when he squeezes just under the head, because he’s so, so close. “I love you so much, Kurt, and you’re - you’re so gorgeous like this.”

“I love you too, I -” Kurt lifts his head back up, searching for Blaine’s mouth, and Blaine only strokes him once, twice more before his hips stutter forward and he’s coming all over Blaine’s hand. Blaine kisses him through it, even when his mouth goes limp, when his brain is clouded with pleasure and it’s all too much, so much. When he can think clearly once again, he pulls Blaine’s briefs down his thighs the rest of the way and uses them to wipe them both clean before rolling further on his back and finding the lube bottle wedged behind him. He winces, making sure the cap is closed tightly before tossing it over to the other side of the bed.

“Are - are you going to use that on me too?” Blaine asks, smiling selfconciously as they shift to get more comfortable. 

Kurt looks up at him and thinks for a moment, thinks back to before when Blaine was practically begging to get Kurt naked, and he’s done holding back, done trying to only do what he thinks Blaine is ready for, when it’s obvious he’s clearly mistaken. “I - I have an idea for something better, if you’ll let me. If you trust me.” 

He climbs over Blaine’s body, hard and wanting underneath him, Blaine looking up at him with a curious expression. “I always trust you,” Blaine murmurs against his lips before they kiss. Kurt hums affirmingly and moves down his body, placing kisses in his wake, across his sternum, in the dip under his ribcage, over his hipbones. “ _Kurt_ ,” he cries out softly, his voice breaking on the tail end of his name, and he must have figured out what Kurt’s up to by now.

“Still okay?” Kurt asks, Blaine’s cock accidentally brushing up against his cheek as he moves closer and Blaine whimpers his name again, which Kurt takes as a yes. He wets his lips, Blaine’s eyes transfixed as his tongue darts out between them, leaning closer to place kisses down the shaft. He hears Blaine suck in a deep breath above him, still watching intently, and tries to make it the best ever even though he know Blaine won’t even know the difference. He moves up to the head, sucking lightly, and that’s when he hears Blaine exhale sharply. 

He pulls off, just long enough to say, “Don’t hold back on me, remember?” His lips brush the tip of Blaine’s cock as he says it, not hesitating to take Blaine a little deeper when he wraps his lips around it once more, and he feels the sheets rumple under Blaine’s fingers and hears a steady chant of ‘oh, oh, _oh my_ ’ fall from his lips. Kurt’s tucked between Blaine’s legs and his own fingers are gripping at his waist and hips. 

He allows one of his hands to wander backwards to Blaine’s ass, not because he needs to bring him closer necessarily, just because he likes the feel of the smooth muscle under his fingertips. Blaine must enjoy it too from the groan it elicits and Kurt files it away for next time, for the many, many more times they’ll do this, and even though he’s already come, something tugs tight within him at the thought. The thought that they’re so in love and they have _so much_ ahead of them to share.

Kurt flattens his tongue and takes him deeper, even more, and even though it hasn’t been that long, his jaw just barely starting to ache, he can feel Blaine starting to tense up nervously underneath him. “Oh, Kurt, I can’t last, oh, oh my g-gosh -”

Kurt pulls off quickly, blurting out to reassure him, “It’s okay, it’s okay, you can come in my mouth, come on,” before sinking back down, sucking with renewed vigor, and Blaine comes with a shout so loud, Kurt’s suddenly thankful for their thick brick walls since he’s pretty sure Quinn stayed in tonight. He pulls off with a smile, ghosting kisses across Blaine’s thighs that cause him to shiver until he’s giggling and grabbing at Kurt’s shoulder and pulling him up towards the pillows. 

“ _You_ ,” Blaine breathes out, bringing him close and wrapping his arms around him, his strong forearms enveloping Kurt’s back, and Kurt sighs against Blaine’s chest. “I - I really want to kiss you now, is that weird, or gross, or -”

Kurt laughs against Blaine’s skin, tilting his neck far enough back so Blaine can get at his mouth. “None of the above, if you don’t think so,” he purrs as he wraps his own arms around Blaine’s neck, letting Blaine set the pace as their lips meet. Blaine’s lips buzz against his as he hums happily, kissing him soft and sweet, and it’s still early, it must be - Kurt doesn’t want their night to end. “Hey, I know Rachel will be here in the morning, but - you should stay.”

“Yeah?” Blaine looks unsure for a moment, as if he wants to but he doesn’t know if a pestering Rachel first thing in the morning will be worth it. “Why am I even thinking? I get to spend the night sleeping next to you,” he finally says with a grin and pecks at Kurt’s check as Kurt squirms underneath him.

“That’s more like it,” he says, finally getting Blaine to stop his kiss assault (they were starting to tickle, and no need for Blaine to learn _that_ information). “Come on, let’s go shower.” The loft showers are barely big enough for two people, but Kurt’s somehow sure they’ll manage. 

They always do.

***

Kurt wakes up to Blaine wrapped around him, legs over his and an arm gripped around his waist like a vice, and the sound of Rachel pattering in the kitchen. He looks over at the clock, and it’s after nine, which means Rachel’s slept very little, and they’ve slept far too long. He and Blaine were asleep long before Rachel came home, but really, he can’t remember the last time he slept more than eight hours a night. 

“Good morning, sleepy,” Blaine mutters against his shoulder, sounding quite sleepy himself, and Kurt knows he needs coffee from all those mornings way back in late summer, when Blaine was sleeping on the couch just a curtain and wall divider away. It seems like a lifetime ago. Kurt pulls them both out of bed, trying to make them look presentable enough for Rachel’s scrutiny, before pulling back the ivory curtain. 

“Morning Kurt,” Rachel says around a yawn from their table. “... _And Blaine_ ,” she adds when she realizes, shooting Kurt a scandalous look from over her mug of tea. He rolls his eyes at her, steering Blaine to the coffee pot and grabbing them some mugs. “Fun night?” she asks, her tone full of so much cheek, he wants to smack her. Luckily, Blaine is still pretty dazed, so he doesn’t even realize.

“Wonderful,” Kurt replies tersely, grabbing the half-and-half from the fridge. “How was Callbacks? Full of future Broadway divas clawing their way over a piano to sing today’s latest pop hits as usual?”

Rachel stares pointedly at Kurt before sipping her tea and answering. “Callbacks was lovely. You and Blaine should come with me next time! I haven’t heard Blaine sing yet - doesn’t he sing for those aftercare kids all the time? Have you sung for Kurt yet, Blaine?”

Kurt walks over to the coffee pot, accepting a mug from Blaine with a smile. “No, he hasn’t. While we should change that, we don’t need to go to an over-hyped bar to do so.”

Blaine stirs cream and sugar into his coffee, sighing after the first sip and finally speaking. “We should change that.” He throws Kurt a mischievous look and adds, “Let me see what I can do.”

“Do you want to stay for breakfast?” Kurt asks quietly, straightening the hem Blaine’s tee shirt, not really because it needs to be fixed, just for the excuse to touch him. His fingers brush the soft flesh of Blaine’s stomach, just above the waistband of the borrowed sweatpants he’s wearing, and he knows Rachel can’t see from where she’s sitting. 

Blaine smiles sadly, reaching for Kurt’s hand with his. “I - I should probably go, before Quinn sends out a search party for me.” Kurt knows Sunday is Blaine’s day with Quinn to do their own thing, and he never wants to interfere with that. He squeezes Blaine’s hand and they head back to his nook of the loft to grab his things, telling Blaine to leave his clothes and he’ll wash them with his own. “Have a nice day, Rach,” Blaine says with a little wave as they walk out into the hall.

“You too, Blaine!” she replies brightly, and Kurt just glares at her. 

“Thank you for staying, even though it meant braving Rachel, and now Quinn,” Kurt says, biting the corner of his mouth, because he hadn’t even thought about what Quinn might say. They passed off their earlier sleepover at Thanksgiving as just accidentally falling asleep, and he knows Quinn doesn’t actually care, but somehow he feels Blaine is going to get teased mercilessly once he walks through the door. 

“It was all worth it,” Blaine assures him with a smile and a kiss before retreating next door with an “I love you,” so he figures he can’t be too worried. 

“You guys were so quiet. I didn’t even realize Blaine was here,” Rachel says the instant Kurt’s back inside, and he sits across from her at the table.

“That’s because we didn’t _do_ anything. We just slept.” Rachel shoots him another pointed glare, and he amends his statement. “Okay, okay, we just slept _while you were here, shut up_.”

“I knew it!” Rachel squealed excitedly, bracing her hands around her mug on the table. “I knew once Blaine was introduced to his most primitive, carnal instincts -”

“Oh, god, no, stop!” Kurt wails, holding his hands to his ears for emphasis. “I’m … not talking about this with you. Aside from saying Valentine’s Day is in two weeks, and if you could vacate the apartment … I would _like to cook Blaine dinner, oh, stop making that face, for the love of god_.”

“That’s not a problem,” Rachel replies, getting up and taking her mug to the sink to wash it out. “Callbacks is having singles night then, actually, and I was planning on being in attendance. You never know who might show up!” She turns to him then and tilts her head. “I - I guess I haven’t given you and Blaine much privacy, have I?”

“Well - no, but I haven’t really said anything until now. Don’t worry about it.” Kurt eyes Rachel, who’s looking at him kind of thoughtfully now, and he asks, “What?”

“Nothing,” she responds, shaking her head, but then she says, “Just - you and Blaine. I guess I didn’t realize how serious things got so fast. I mean, it makes sense, you guys knew each other for so many months before you got together, and he’s _Blaine_ , after all. Simply a random observation is all.” Kurt’s not sure how to take it at first until she adds, “Oh, it’s a good thing silly, love looks good on you is all I’m saying!”

Kurt laughs and ducks his head towards his coffee. “Thanks, Rachel. That’s … nice of you to notice.”

“Of course,” Rachel responds, and her reply seems a little off, as if there’s something behind it - the wheels are turning for sure, and Kurt just hopes he likes whatever her brain spits out at him when he finally learns what it is.


	9. Chapter 9

Kurt doesn’t have to wait long to find out what Rachel’s up to. The following week, she drags him to dinner on Sunday while Quinn and Blaine are doing their thing, and he can’t deny he’s curious.

“Okay, out with it. Why have you been so squirrely lately?” he asks over their plastic menus in the bar and grill down the street from their apartment. 

She looks affronted at his accusation, and the waiter suddenly appears to take their order. She smiles sweetly at him, changing her tune, and once he’s gone, scoffs again. “I am about to offer you a huge favor and am just looking out for your well-being. You could _at least_ be a little nice to me.”

“Fine,” Kurt replies slowly, considering her point. “I just - you make me nervous when you’re like this.”

Rachel’s expression softens into a smile and she pats his hand across the table. “You have _nothing_ to be worried about, Kurt! You are my best friend and I just want the best for you - and Blaine, of course. I don’t know what I would have done the past eighteen months if I didn’t have you by my side here in the city.”

“Live in the awful NYADA dorms. Date Brody. Or, oh god, still be with my _stepbrother_.” Rachel stares at him blankly, and okay, maybe that last one was too far, but he hasn’t commented on whatever their Christmas shenanigans were. “I’m sorry. You know you’re my best friend too, right? I say these things out of love,” he adds with a smile, and she relents, smiling herself and continuing.

“Anyway, I’m talking to you about this first, because it was my idea, and then you can talk to Blaine. Quinn and I don’t really know if you and Blaine are ready for it, but we wanted you to know that we are, when you are. Quinn and I went to lunch the other day between classes and talked for a really long time, and I think everything would be fine, whenever you guys _are_ ready -”

“Rachel!” Kurt interrupts, kind of rudely, but she’s rambling and he has no idea what she’s getting at. “I seem to have missed a crucial part of this story.”

“Oh!” she says brightly, clasping her hands together in front of her. “Well, I was just thinking. Instead of kicking me out all the time, and sneaking around and everything - you and Blaine seemed very comfortable together the night he stayed over. And, obviously it’s a big step and I don’t know if you’re ready for it yet, but whenever you _are_ ready, I’m perfectly willing to move next door with Quinn into Blaine’s space and let you guys have 3A.” Rachel smiles warmly at him again, and Kurt’s actually speechless.

This is Rachel Berry. Rachel Berry, who believes the universe revolves around her and her alone and she is actually giving up her space in the loft she shares with her best friend of almost five years to move next door with the girl she’s only known seven months, solely for Kurt’s benefit. Sure, Kurt’s mostly decorated the place, but it’s Rachel’s space too, no doubt. She’s done this by _thinking ahead_ , not springing this on them right when they need it, giving them time to let the idea marinate, and make a rational decision on it. Rachel Berry _is nothing rational_.

Is this what growing up feels like?

He realizes she’s looking at him expectantly, because he hasn’t said anything, and he laughs lightly under his breath before answering. “That’s - that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever done for me, Rachel. I don’t know what to say.”

“Well, you don’t have to say anything _now_ ,” she replies, grinning even wider and tilting her head to the side. “Just something to think about.”

“I’m not sure if we’re quite ready? Maybe - soon? Definitely soon. I - _thank you_.” Rachel’s still smiling at him, and he’s not sure if he wants her to elaborate, but she does.

“There’s just something special between you two. I wanted you to know that someone on the outside sees it too. Quinn and I both do.”

In that moment, Kurt Hummel realizes he’s come a long way from the kid five years ago who had no friends at all. Life’s pretty good, and he’s grateful for it.

***

On Valentine’s Day, Kurt waits in Starbucks for Blaine to get off work, communicating with Rachel via text to make sure she’ll be out of the loft by the time they get home. He sees Blaine come in, waving at him and blowing him a kiss as he heads to get his latte, which is out of character, but he must be in a festive mood today. He wore a bright red sweater that the kids must have loved - or the older kids teased him for. “Hey, ready to get out of here?” Kurt asks, worrying his brow when Blaine sits down, making himself comfortable. 

“If we hang out here for a bit, I have a surprise for you,” he says in a mischievous voice, plucking a single key on a key ring from his pocket and placing it on the table. “It’s - kind of silly, but if we give everyone twenty or so minutes to clear out, Caroline said I could go back and use the piano. I - I wanted to sing for you.” Blaine’s blushing a little, and Kurt reaches across the table to take his hand.

“ _Blaine_. Does - does that mean you told Caroline? She must have taken things okay if she gave you a key.” Blaine nods and Kurt’s heart leaps even more. 

“You, um - we can still meet here, but maybe on Monday you could stop by and introduce yourself? Since she’s letting us use the room? She was very understanding and felt awful for trying to set me up. She asked me all about you.” Blaine tells the rest of his story, how Caroline sort of wondered when he dodged her offers to set him up but wouldn’t give a reason, and she was more than happy to let them use the piano. He still isn’t sure how his other coworkers, Amy and Linda, will take it, but Caroline is really the only one who matters since she’s his boss. They eventually deem enough time passed and head back towards the church.

Kurt’s walked by the building before, but has never stepped inside. It’s an old building, but the neighborhood is full of old buildings so it fits in perfectly. Blaine takes them through the side entrance so they don’t have to walk in the front, and Kurt’s grateful for that. There seems to be some event going on with tons of families. “I, ah, forgot there was a Valentine’s Day banquet tonight? It’s in the front hall, we should be able to avoid it. Come on, I know a shortcut,” he says with a wink the second they’re inside, and Kurt takes his hand as he leads him down a back hallway, his heart beating a mile a minute.

They don’t run into anyone as they make their way to the aftercare rooms, and Blaine explains they’re spread out over a few different spaces. He unlocks the one with the piano and then locks the door behind them, just in case. “You sure it’s okay to be up here?” Kurt asks, taking off his coat and scarf and setting it on a chair with his bag. It looks as if the room is multipurpose, probably used for choir practice on other days. 

“I work here and Caroline gave me permission on top of that. Come here,” Blaine says after removing his own outerwear and walking over to the piano bench. “So, I was trying to figure out what to sing for you, because I don’t play the piano a lot and we didn’t listen to a lot of popular music growing up - I mean, when I got to high school, I found stuff behind my parents’ back, of course, but - I’m rambling, sorry.” 

Kurt can tell he’s anxious, so he sits down next to him on the bench instead of in one of the chairs alongside. He places his hand on Blaine’s thigh and he takes a shuddering breath. “My grandmother on my mom’s side, she was a huge Sam Cooke fan, and this isn’t exactly right for us probably, but a lot of the lyrics made me think of me and you.” 

Blaine gives him one last smile and tinkers with the keys a bit before settling in. “ _[I never cared for simple things like love, June and old place my face was terribly blank to things concerning l'amour](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am2Szr5HcmU)_.”

Kurt’s sure he’s heard this song before, one that’s jazzier and more uptempo, but Blaine’s slowed it down considerably, since just him and the piano of course. Blaine’s voice is beautiful, and he can’t believe he really hasn’t heard him sing until now. He’s never going to let him live it down. He’s not really sure where he’s going with the song until it hits him when he sings, “ _For I'm not the guy who cared about love, never cared much, but, oh look at me now. I never knew the technique of kissing; I never knew the thrill I could get from your touch … oh look at me now ..._ ”

Even Kurt blushes at the words, for Blaine to put himself out there like that. Slowed down, the tone is less joyous and more intimate, and Kurt can hardly believe this is the same shy boy he met outside his apartment just over half a year ago, singing this sultry song to him _in a place of worship_ , of all things. Blaine ducks his head once he’s done, chuckling bashfully, and Kurt fists his hand in Blaine’s sweater to grab his attention, nosing against Blaine’s chin to get at his mouth, brushing their lips together, just barely, because, well, _place of worship_. “Thank you for that,” Kurt whispers, the words ghosting over Blaine’s cheek where his lips came to rest. “You’re going to have to sing for me all the time now, you know that, right?”

“That’s why I like music,” Blaine admits, laughing against Kurt’s cheek before putting a bit more space in between them. “I can sing things I normally have a hard time saying. I, ah, have one more song? It’s not really a Sam Cooke song, though I did listen [to his version](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRMC8xH6OXU) growing up.”

“Your grandmother has excellent music taste,” Kurt tells him as he moves his hands back to the keys, and Blaine breaks into a smile.

“She died when I was twelve. I like to think she would have been okay with - with everything. It might have helped with my mom too, I don’t know. But, that’s a story for another time.” He smiles again, a little sadly, and Kurt almost feels bad for bringing it up, but then Blaine starts to sing. “ _Maybe I'm old fashioned, feeling as I do, maybe I am living in the past, but when I meet the right one I know that I'll be true, my first love will be my last._ ”

The corners of Kurt’s mouth start to curl up in a smile. He recognizes the song immediately. “You know this one,” Blaine says, not a question but a statement. “Sing with me. I haven’t heard you sing yet either.” Kurt clears his throat, and nods his head just slightly. 

“ _When I fall in love, it will be forever_ ,” he sings, and Blaine’s caught off-guard, because his eyes widen and his eyebrows jump at the sound of Kurt’s voice and he doesn’t pick up until the next line. Kurt blushes again and looks away, Blaine’s awed stare too much for him to take if he’s going to keep singing. He’s thankful that he remembers all the words, since Blaine obviously had time to prepare, and he has no idea how he remembers them from the way Blaine’s singing directly to him with the most open and earnest expression Kurt’s ever seen. He’s never sung with anyone before, not like this, and he suddenly understands somewhat all those stupid duets he had to sit through in glee club, because this - if they were feeling even one ounce of the emotion he feels in this moment, he forgives them all, every last one of them.

“ _When I give my heart, it will be completely or I'll never, never, never give my heart, and the moment I can feel that you feel that way too is when I give my heart to you._ ”

It’s Blaine that kisses him this time, pulling his hands back from the piano keys with a bit of a clatter, reaching up to cup Kurt’s cheeks with his palms, not kissing Kurt soft and sweet like before at all, but hungry and needy, as if his life depends on it. Their lips slide against each other, a frantic push and pull, before Kurt gasps out Blaine’s name and says, “We - we should go home.” Blaine slows his kisses, but doesn’t stop, causing Kurt to laugh against his lips, finally murmuring, “Take me home, Blaine. There are things I want to do to you that are far too inappropriate to even discuss here.”

Blaine’s eyebrows jump again and Kurt laughs even louder, kissing him one last time. “I love you so much,” he whispers before crawling off the piano bench, and he really, really wishes Bushwick wasn’t so far away.

***

It’s the longest commute ever.

The trains are running slow and the cars are surprisingly full for eight-thirty on a Friday. Once they’re on a train, Kurt spends most of the ride standing pressed up against Blaine, which he normally wouldn’t mind, but he’s kind of insanely turned on and not even fifty New Yorkers surrounding him is enough to kill that. Blaine must feel the same from the glances he’s giving Kurt, and when they’re finally in Bushwick, they can’t exit the station fast enough. It’s after ten, and Kurt just wants to be inside his nice, warm, _empty_ apartment - and he wants it right now.

“I know you were going to make dinner -” Blaine starts to say once they’re inside, but Kurt just tosses his satchel to the ground and pushes Blaine up against the door.

“I’m not hungry anymore,” Kurt breathes out, surging forward to kiss him for the first time since they left the church, trying to help Blaine out of some of his clothes in the process. Kurt shrugs off his coat, Blaine’s own satchel falling to the floor with a thud, and tugs at his scarf, all the while kissing him frantically. Rachel’s supposed to call with a warning once she’s leaving Callbacks (she has her own ringtone, and Kurt’s informed her that he _won’t_ be answering; it really is just a warning), so he doesn’t mind leaving a mess. They’ll have plenty of time to clean up before she returns. 

“Oh, thank goodness,” Blaine sighs, attempting to get Kurt out of his own coat and back him up towards the direction of the bed. Hands wander under sweaters and shirts and fumble with belts and buttons, leaving a trail of clothing all the way to Kurt’s corner of the loft. In all the time they’ve been together - and even before, if Kurt’s being honest - Kurt’s never wanted anyone as much as he wants Blaine right now. They tumble to the bed, naked and already hard (Kurt was hard on the _train_ ), and as they scramble towards the pillows, still unable to take their hands off of each other, Blaine pants, “Kurt - I want - I want to -”

“Shh, shh, slow down for a second,” Kurt hums, resting his head against a pillow and catching his breath. Once his breathing calms just a bit, just a few seconds later, he closes the gap between them again to press their lips together gently. “What do you want? Tell me. Tell me _everything_.”

“I want to make you come w-with my mouth. I - I want to try, at least.” Kurt sucks in a sharp breath at his words, because yes, _yes, of course_. He nods emphatically, whimpering _please_ against Blaine’s lips, and Blaine grins enthusiastically. Did he really think Kurt would say no?

The next thing Kurt knows, he’s flat on his back and Blaine’s down between his legs staring at his cock - really _staring_. Kurt tries not to be self-conscious, because he knows Blaine hasn’t been this close before, but he’s starting to get a bit of a complex. “Blaine, honey,” he says softly, and Blaine laughs an apology before placing a single kiss at the tip. 

“You’re just … you’re stunning, Kurt, and I can’t believe you’re with me.” Blaine kisses the tip again before sinking his mouth over the head and sucking lightly, just barely, and it doesn’t matter that the pressure’s not enough, Kurt groans loudly regardless (he’s been turned on for _hours_ ). “Like that?” Blaine asks after pulling off, a bit of saliva stringing between his bottom lip and Kurt’s cock and looking positively sinful. 

Kurt groans again and nods, throwing his head back against the pillows as Blaine sinks his mouth back down. “Yeah, yeah, you can - _yes, like that, just like that, oh god, Blaine_ ,” Kurt cries out as Blaine takes him in deeper and sucks harder, and it’s probably a good thing Kurt’s so turned on, because his filter is gone and he’s more vocal than normal. Blaine could probably stand to use some unnecessary praise. Blaine’s mouth sinks even further down, wet heat surrounding him, and when Blaine tries to take him deeper still, it’s too much, and he has to pull off coughing.

“Hey,” Kurt says when he realizes, feeling bad instantly, like maybe he should have talked Blaine through this more. “Don’t try and do more than you can handle. Just take it slow, okay?” 

Blaine mumbles his apologies, but he’s smiling, and Kurt wants to tell him not to say he’s sorry, but he’s already back at it, mouthing at the head of his cock again. He’s paying more attention there now, probably letting his gag reflex recover, but Kurt has no complaints. He runs his tongue along the ridge between the head and shaft - he _really_ must have been paying attention to Kurt, bless him, because that drives Kurt crazy. “Oh, fuck Blaine, so good, _so good_ ,” he mutters as his toes curl in the sheets and Blaine finally tries to take him deeper again, spit starting to drip everywhere, down his cock, down his balls, onto the bed. 

Another reason it’s probably for the best Kurt’s so turned on is that he’s not going to last long at all. He can feel everything in his body tightening as Blaine’s head bobs, his hips twitching from trying to keep them still as to not thrust up into Blaine’s mouth, and with anyone else, he’d feel stupid at how fast it’s upon him, but this is _Blaine_. Blaine who he shares everything with and he’s almost never embarrassed around, and even if he is, it doesn’t matter. He lets Blaine see sides of him no one else gets to, sides no one else will _ever_ get to, and he’s so glad Blaine’s the person he gets to share himself with. 

“Blaine - Blaine, I’m - switch to your hand I’m gonna -” He tries to warn him, but he’s not exactly fast enough. Blaine’s hand gets around him to pump him through his orgasm, but when Kurt opens his eyes, he realizes Blaine must have swallowed some, because there’s a little bit on the corner of his mouth. 

Kurt reaches over to wipe it with his finger, getting most of it, and Blaine just says, “Ooops,” laughing and leaning over to suck it off. Something pulls tight within Kurt at that, even though he just came, the way Blaine’s looking up at him while sucking come off his finger, and oh god, when they get this blowjob thing down, Kurt’s going to be powerless around him.

“Come here,” Kurt says, his voice low and scratchy, and he licks the rest of what his finger didn’t get off himself before kissing Blaine hard, delighting in the surprised noise he makes. “Your turn?” he asks coyly when they break, trying to push Blaine back towards the pillows, but Blaine’s not having it.

“Wait,” he says, reaching for Kurt’s hands with his own. “Back at the church - when - when you said you wanted to discuss _inappropriate things_ … you - you should tell me those. I - I don’t have a very good imagination when it comes to this stuff and you should tell me what you want too.”

Kurt blinks back at Blaine. Sure, he’d wanted to talk to him, but that was before it took them over an hour and a half to get home and Blaine was distracting him with blowjobs. “I, um, was envisioning us having that conversation with more clothes on,” Kurt admits, his eyes trailing down to Blaine’s cock, tip glistening and curving towards his belly. 

“Hey, I can still think with my brain even when my dick is hard, give me a little credit,” Blaine says, and Kurt laughs, hiding his face against Blaine’s shoulder. “And I would never regret anything we do, okay? Because it’s with you.”

Kurt worries his lip between his teeth before saying, “Anything else we do past this is going to be new to me too, and there’s so much I want to try, Blaine, I just -”

“I know how anal sex works,” Blaine blurts out, and Kurt grins at his boyfriend’s bluntness, burying his head against his shoulder again. “I, um, just wanted to put that out there.”

“Thank you for clearing that up,” Kurt whispers, his voice going a little breathy at the thought of what he’s going to ask next. “Have you ever touched yourself there?”

“No, have you?” Blaine asks, and his own voice keens high at the end, as if he already knows Kurt’s answer is going to be different. Kurt nods slowly and Blaine’s eyelids flutter shut, a moan trapping in his throat. 

“I, ah, always thought it would be better with another person. The angle’s kind of awkward when you’re by yourself.” Blaine’s eyes are open again, transfixed on Kurt’s lips and what he’s saying, as if he’s in awe at the idea of Kurt fingering himself, so - “I could ... touch you like that. If you wanted. If that’s something you were interested in, I mean.”

“I, yeah, _yes_ , I want to try everything,” Kurt grins a little at the mention of trying everything, and Blaine’s cheeks flush, and he adds, “I mean, I’m sure there’s lots of crazy stuff I don’t even know about, but what I do know about - I want it all with you, Kurt.”

“I’m - I’m really glad to hear that,” he replies, widening his grin before heading to find the lube in the nightstand. “Here, bring your legs up for me,” Kurt says when he returns, nudging at the back of Blaine’s thighs. His breath hitches, and he tries not to stare at the sight of Blaine laid out for him like he is, and he finally says, “You know I think the same thing as you, don’t you? That sometimes I can’t believe you’re with me? That I don’t think you realize how undeniably gorgeous you are?”

Blaine’s cheeks are still flushed, and it spreads down his neck at Kurt’s words. He kisses the inside of Blaine’s thigh lightly as he pops open the bottle, smearing lube over his fingers. “I’ll go slow, okay? Tell me - tell me _everything_ ,” he repeats, “I want to know how it feels.” The fact that Blaine’s never done this before is turning him on more than it should, and he can feel his cock trying to get hard again even though he just came. 

He nudges at Blaine’s thighs again, spreading them open wider for better access. He trails a wet finger down Blaine’s crack, wishing he could see better, but having Blaine turn over means missing Blaine’s reactions, and no way. Just - _no_. Just like now, when the pad of his fingertip runs across the spot he’s looking for, Blaine’s mouth forms a perfect circle, his head falling back against the pillows further, and there’s no way he’s missing this for anything. 

He runs his finger along the rim of Blaine’s hole, circling and teasing with barely any pressure, not pushing in yet. A few soft gasps escape from Blaine’s lips as he does it, wide circles that bring his fingers away and then back, and he murmurs, “Good?” against Blaine’s thigh where his cheek is resting, just to check, just to make sure Blaine’s still with him.

“Uh-huh,” Blaine grunts in response, and Kurt’s finger slips, his fingertip pressing against the very center of his hole, and Blaine whimpers, begging for more. Kurt begins to gape a little himself, spreading Blaine’s cheeks a little with his free hand so he can have a better view, and slips just the very tip of his finger inside. 

“Are you okay?” Kurt asks when Blaine doesn’t say anything aside from inhaling deeply, and Blaine squirms slightly underneath him.

“It feels … weird?” Blaine admits, and his muscles are so tight around Kurt’s fingertip, Kurt has to remind himself to breathe. 

“Do you - do you want me to stop?” Kurt asks, but Blaine’s shaking his head. 

“No, no, it’s good, maybe just - more? _Oh, oh,_ ” he says on the exhale when Kurt eases in to his knuckle, feeling Blaine start to relax slightly around him. He starts slowly dragging his finger in and out of Blaine, getting lost in the sight of it a little, the way it disappears into Blaine’s body completely once he goes even further, giving Blaine his whole finger. Blaine’s sighing and moaning quietly above him, and somehow Kurt thinks it stopped being weird a while ago.

“Do you want even more?” Kurt asks, and a steady stream of _pleasepleaseplease_ falls from Blaine’s lips. He grabs the lube, even though everything’s so wet already, he doesn’t want to risk hurting Blaine. He’s painfully slow working in two fingers, because Blaine clenches around him around the halfway mark, and he can’t help but groan. He’s definitely almost hard again, thoughts of replacing his fingers with his cock flooding his mind, not tonight of course, but soon. 

Kurt twists his wrist slightly to angle his fingers better so he can pump them faster, building momentum once Blaine’s opened up for him. “ _Oh_ , that feels good, so good, don’t stop,” Blaine gasps, and Kurt doesn’t ask about a third finger, just adds it alongside the others because _everything’s so wet_ , and Blaine’s _still_ so tight around him. Kurt thinks he might be able to get off just from the way Blaine’s groaning and writhing and reacting to his touch and squeezing around his fingers and _good lord_ , his boyfriend is the hottest ever and he has no idea _and that makes it even hotter_. 

“Kurt - Kurt - _oh my gosh_ -” Blaine cries out before he clenches tight around the three fingers inside of him, cock pulsing as come shoots all over his stomach. Kurt watches in awe, torn between watching Blaine’s face and his ass, easing his fingers out slowly once Blaine’s orgasm passes and heading up to kiss him. “You’re - you’re hard again,” Blaine notes, laughing and trailing a hand down Kurt’s stomach, which he bats away.

“That was the hottest thing ever, shut up,” he breathes out. “Do you mind if I, um …”

“Do you want me to help?” Blaine asks, and Kurt shakes his head.

“No, just kiss me, it’ll be quick.” Kurt’s not lying, between Blaine kissing the breath out of him, and Kurt fisting at his cock the way he knows he can get off the fastest, it’s barely a few minutes before he’s coming again weakly all over Blaine’s stomach, his own come mixing with Blaine’s, which is sort of hot in and of itself. 

“I think _you’re_ the hottest thing ever, Kurt Hummel,” Blaine murmurs against his neck after it hits, when he’s still shuddering a little, and he lets out a shaky laugh. 

“You’re a mess,” Kurt points out, laughing even harder, and Blaine finally joins in. “You’re a mess, the apartment’s a mess, and I don’t even care because I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Blaine says, which is punctuated with his stomach growling, reminding them that it’s far past dinnertime. It sends them into another fit of giggles, and Kurt drags Blaine to the shower, figuring cleanup is more pertinent than food at this very moment.

***

Kurt’s almost done cooking dinner when the warning call from Rachel comes through, and Blaine’s a dear, picking up the place while he finishes. When they sit down finally, Kurt realizes the night really is going all ass-backwards, because there was something he’d planned on talking about with Blaine over dinner that he almost forgot about. 

“So, before we got _distracted_ , I had something I wanted to talk to you about. Besides the sex stuff.” Blaine looks curious as he cuts into his chicken, but doesn’t say anything, so Kurt continues. “Rachel and Quinn have been plotting behind our backs.”

That grabs his attention, and Kurt quickly says, “It’s nothing bad! Rachel actually had someone else’s best interest at heart for once. She was just thinking … if at any point we wanted to move in together … well, she has no problem living with Quinn, and Quinn feels the same.”

Blaine looks shocked and says nothing, and Kurt doesn’t know how to take that, letting the statement hang in the air a bit. “I mean,” he finally says, “it’s just a thought. It’s not something we have to do today or tomorrow or even next week, but, just, they’re on board, if we ever wanted to.” Kurt starts paying extra attention to his own chicken, cutting each piece into tiny bites and trying not to let Blaine’s silence unnerve him. 

“Kurt.” He stabs a piece of chicken with his fork extra forcefully, not looking up at Blaine quite yet. “I - I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” he mutters, and Blaine reaches across the table for his empty hand.

“Look at me.” He eventually looks up at Blaine, who’s not mad or awkward at all. He’s got a giant grin on his face, and his eyes are just a touch damp. “I’m really touched they went to the trouble and I’m _really_ honored that you’d want to live with me.”

“Yeah?” Kurt asks, squeezing at Blaine’s hand. “I mean - it’s no rush. I don’t want to pressure you or anything. I just wanted to mention it, since she did.”

“There’s no point in waiting, though, right? Unless you wanted to?” Blaine asks, a bit shyly, and Kurt grins, ducking his head and shaking it. “Quinn and Rachel have spring break next month. That would be a good block of time to get everything done and it’s not too soon.”

“That’s - that’s what, in six weeks?” Kurt asks, butterflies starting up in his stomach, because _his boyfriend is going to move in with him_. They’re going to live together in this very loft and their two best friends will still be next door, and he’s not quite sure when his life became sitcom-perfect, but he’ll take it. After everything else that’s gone on, everything that’s brought him from Ohio to here, he’ll definitely take it.

***

Later that week, Kurt’s rushing out of his apartment one morning and finds an unexpected visitor outside their building.

Cooper.

Cooper’s set to arrive later that night, for a long weekend, and he’s not quite sure what he’s doing outside their building so early. In fact, Kurt squints in the cold February air to make sure he’s not seeing things, but no, it’s Blaine’s brother, charming as ever, leaning up against the brick of the building. “Cooper?” Kurt asks, walking towards him, and he jumps off the wall unexpectedly. “Blaine said you weren’t getting in until tonight. Does he know you’re here?”

“Kurt! What a surprise to see you here!” Cooper booms loudly, and yes, what a surprise to see him _outside his own apartment building_. “I’m not here to see him actually,” he says with his signature grin, as if he thinks that will get him out of any further questions. “It’s been so long, the last time I saw you, you and my brother were such bumbling idiots you couldn’t even ask each other out, and now I hear you’re moving in together! Congrats!”

Kurt narrows his eyes, because he’s not sure if it’s just because Cooper’s trying to deflect the attention away from why he’s really here or what, but his tone isn’t sitting right with him. “Yes, because I really care about the opinion of my relationships from someone who can’t even be honest about his own,” he replies tersely, pulling his coat tighter around him, and Cooper’s eyebrows jump up towards his hairline. 

“I - me and Quinn - it’s complicated,” he finally says, and Kurt shakes his head, because he doesn’t _really_ want to know, he just wants to make a point.

“Things are only complicated when you make them complicated,” he adds, sighing, his tone softening. “For what it’s worth, Blaine has no clue, but I’ve had an inkling since Christmas. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t care though. He just wants you to be happy, both of you.”

“I’m happy for you guys too, by the way. _Really_ happy. I haven’t seen my brother this happy in … a long time, Kurt, and you’ve made him this happy.” It’s another one of those rare moments of clarity Cooper sometimes has, sweet and genuine, and Kurt’s thankful for it. He hopes Cooper will tell Blaine these things too at some point, when they’re alone and he works up the courage. 

“He makes me happy too, you know. I wasn’t in the best place before I came to New York, and just being in the city fixed a lot of that, but I wasn’t entirely complete until I met Blaine. Does that make sense?” Kurt takes one look at Cooper and can tell that he gets it. Kurt wonders if Quinn is that person for him, or he has other experience to go on, or his moment of clarity just isn’t up yet, but he nods and smiles and pats Kurt on the shoulder.

“I’m glad I ran into you today, Kurt. Glad that we had this talk. Now that you’re dating my brother - you’re going to be _living together_! - I’m going to have to come up with a nickname for you.” Well, that moment of clarity is up. Kurt’s eyes must widen in horror, because he grins again and laughs. “I’ll brainstorm today. It’ll be great!”

“Cooper - you really don’t have to -” Kurt starts, but Cooper just keeps grinning, clapping him on the other shoulder and shuffling him to the corner.

“You’re on your way to work, right? Don’t want to be late! Especially on my count!” 

Kurt makes it to the other side of the street before turning back, Cooper waving jovially, and he just shakes his head, hoping Cooper’s nickname picking skills have improved in the last twenty years. Because, you know, two can play that game, and Kurt has a whole creative staff at Vogue at his disposal to come up with something just perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (for people who didn't want to click: the Sam Cooke songs are 'Oh, Look At Me Now' & 'When I Fall In Love')


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are two lists talked about in this chapter, which I've actually handwritten out and scanned and linked. If you don't want to click on them when you're reading, I've relinked them for you at the end. :)

If ever asked what his favorite season is, Kurt always says fall. Mainly for the fashions, of course - coats, boots, scarves, the first chance to change up a wardrobe after a long, hot summer, the first hint of crispness in the air. Even though he never necessarily appreciated heading back to school for the new year, fall always meant a larger clothes budget, scouring for the perfect pieces to compliment his wardrobe back in Ohio. In a way, fall was a bit of a new beginning for him each year - a new school year, a new chance to prove himself, or in the case of two Septembers ago, the chance of moving to New York and making all of his dreams come true.

Almost all of them. Some took quite a bit longer to realize.

In reality though, fall doesn’t really symbolize new beginnings overall, that’s much more spring’s job. Green leaves and buds poking out of grey tree bark and melting snow. The promise of a bit more daylight in his commute. And in his life this year, a mountain of cardboard boxes stolen from the bakery being filled with belongings in his apartment and in 3B next door, the biggest leap forward for him and Blaine yet. 

Kurt’s thankful that Columbia and NYADA have the same spring break and that he and Blaine decided to take a few days off of work to help with the apartment switching as well. Blaine put an ad on Craigslist a few weeks back, offering his bed for free to anyone who would take it out of the apartment, and it ended up going to a nice couple who just moved from Iowa who still hadn’t returned their trailer. (Kurt’s also thankful they had the sense to not put any personal information - they received over fifty emails in the hour it was up.) 

He’d been sleeping on the futon ever since, even though Rachel said he was more than welcome to start crashing in their apartment early. He didn’t want to start leaving Quinn alone, even though she had no issues either. Kurt thinks deep down though she was happy to still have a few more weeks with him as a roommate. They’ve been through a lot together, and even though he knows they have Quinn’s wishes, it’s going to be an adjustment on them all.

Quinn and Rachel are next door boxing up the last of her things Friday afternoon and Kurt and Blaine are doing the same in 3B, Kurt emptying the contents of Blaine’s nightstand into a small cardboard box where it’s been moved to the center of the loft, since they’ve already moved Rachel’s bed in. They’ve decided to put Blaine’s nightstand and bookcase over in Rachel’s side of the loft until they can figure out what to do with the space (they have a whole quarter of the apartment empty now). It’ll probably eventually become somewhat of an office, moving Kurt’s work desk over there too and giving them more space in the bedroom area, but they haven’t decided for sure yet. 

Kurt finds [a folded piece of paper](http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcrw1nvvSR1qiadqt.jpg) at the bottom of all of the clutter in the nightstand, and there’s a nagging at the back of his mind that he should probably just throw it in the box, but they talked about trying to not bring any more clutter than necessary into the apartment, so he also thinks it might be trash. He unfolds it carefully and sees _New York Affirmations_ written up at the top and various things written and crossed off, like _find a job_ and _fall in love?_ or things that have little tick marks next to them like _keep up worship with Quinn_ as well as ones that aren’t crossed off like _find a purpose that is more than just a job_ or _be comfortable with myself everywhere_ (that one has _working on it_ scribbled in small letters in a different pen color next to it - and it must be in reference to work). 

Kurt feels bad for opening the paper, like he’s intruded on something deeply personal, and moves to refold it, but then he sees his name written in the corner of the page. _TELL HIM YOU LIKE HIM_ is written in capital letters, and then crossed out, but not simply crossed off like the others, like he checked it off when it happened, almost like Blaine changed his mind. It’s rewritten underneath, crossed off properly with a little smiley face next to it, along with _have first kiss with Kurt_ and _come with Kurt on purpose_.

There’s only one more item under his name, and it’s not crossed off, even though it definitely happened, which makes Kurt think Blaine hasn’t looked at his affirmation list in a while. _Give Kurt a blowjob_ and then underneath in smaller, hurried printing, as if he’s worried to even write his thoughts down, _(and I don’t know if Kurt wants to do anything else past that so the list ends here and I wouldn’t even know what to put)_.

“Oh!” Kurt hears Blaine’s socked feet stop short on the hardwood floor behind him from where he’s seated facing the nightstand, and he can hear the shock in his voice.

“I - I’m sorry, I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t trash,” Kurt explains quickly, refolding it and handing it to Blaine. Blaine takes it from him wordlessly, looking worried, as if he’s not sure how much Kurt’s read, and he reaches out to ask Blaine to sit with him on the floor. They’re both sitting cross-legged and Kurt scoots over so their knees touch, leaning in to take the hand not clutching the piece of paper. “I didn’t mean to read your secrets,” he says softly, feeling so, so awful, bringing Blaine’s hand to his mouth to dust his knuckles with kisses.

“They’re not really secrets,” Blaine mumbles, finally looking up at Kurt so that their eyes meet. “It’s just - so out there. In black and white. Everything I feel.”

“I didn’t read it all,” Kurt admits, which is true, once he saw his name, he sort of focused on that. “But this hasn’t been updated in a while, right? Because you know what I feel for you and all the things I want with you? Or do you need a reminder?” he teases, laughing low and quiet, and Blaine finally cracks a smile.

“Well, reminders are always helpful.” He sighs, setting the paper on the floor and taking Kurt’s other hand in his. “But yes, I know, I haven’t - I haven’t really been keeping up. Things have been a little hectic around here.”

“I think you should,” Kurt replies, squeezing at Blaine’s hands in his. “And I know things have been hectic around here,” he adds. Right after Valentine’s Day, New York Fashion Week kicked off again, followed by the rest of the major cities, and he’d barely seen Blaine for the rest of the month and well into March. Isabelle had flown to Paris for their Fashion Week, and had almost taken him with her at the last minute, but things had fallen through. He’d stayed in the office working for her remotely instead, billing an insane amount of overtime. Still, even the thought that he’d _almost_ gone was thrilling, making the expectations for this coming fall even more promising. 

“Tonight though,” he says, leaning forward so their foreheads are pressing together. “Tonight it’s just you and me in our new home together … and I know I’ve told you how much I missed you over these past few weeks, I’d like to show you instead.” There have been texts and calls and emails and few and far between train rides back home together and date nights that end with getting each other off fast and furious because that’s all they have the time and the energy for, nothing like what Kurt really wants, what Kurt’s been positively aching for since the night he asked Blaine to move in with him.

“Mmmm,” Blaine replies, tilting to get at Kurt’s lips and kiss him, first softly but turning a touch darker in an instant. “I - I’d like that too. We should finish this up. The quicker we do, the quicker we can kick Rachel out _officially_. After dinner, of course.” The four of them have plans for dinner to celebrate once the move in is done, but after that, Blaine’s all his. 

On the flipside, he thinks, he’s certainly all Blaine’s, offering Blaine a small smile, a secret - and he can’t wait.

***

They were supposed to leave for dinner after a round of long showers and getting cleaned up, but they never quite made it, ordering Chinese take out and opening a bottle of wine instead, eating on the floor of _Kurt and Blaine’s_ loft, since the table only has three chairs. They technically could all fit in the living room, but Rachel calls it reminiscent of their first night in the loft, and suddenly they’re swapping stories of their first year in the city, with Quinn and Blaine are telling them stories they’ve never heard of their time in 3B as well. Kurt whispers his love to both of them in their ears as he hugs them goodbye, and he and Blaine really do have the two best friends anyone could ask for. 

And then, it’s just the two of them. Time stops and slows a little once the door is shut and Blaine’s expression is filled with such joy, Kurt’s insides are about to burst. “Hello, my fellow loft dweller,” Kurt teases, tugging at the sides of Blaine’s cardigan once he walks close enough for him to reach out and touch. 

“Why, hello there kind sir,” Blaine teases back, smiling so wide his eyes are crinkling. “What do you propose we - _oh_.” Blaine stops talking when Kurt’s suddenly in his space, and it’s hitting Kurt how long it’s been since they’ve really had a decent amount of time alone together, how this always sort of happens to them and now it’s never going to happen again, aside from when their lives get hectic and busy. Even then, now they’ll have stolen moments together here just the two of them. They’ll never be apart for much too long, and Kurt’s thrilled at the prospect.

“I’m so happy you’re finally here,” Kurt says with a sigh, pressing their cheeks together and just holding Blaine close. “I get to fall asleep next to you every night and wake up to you in the morning … I think that’s going to be my favorite part.” 

“Oh, really?” Blaine replies with a lit still to his voice. “I’d definitely agree, but coming in close second …” He turns his cheek slightly so his lips brush Kurt’s jaw, sending a shiver down his spine. 

“This is just like that first night I kissed you … there’s wine and you can’t keep your hands off me. I _have_ corrupted you.” Kurt’s tone is still light and teasing as well, and he feels Blaine chuckle against his skin. 

“I think _corrupted_ is far, far too strong a word. And how come you get all the blame, hmm? I can’t have corrupted you at all? I’m too much of a nice boy for that?” Blaine nips at Kurt’s jaw again to prove his point, and Kurt would never admit it, never, but Blaine’s exactly right, because all he has to do is smile at him a certain way or simply look at him just so, and Kurt’s putty in his hands. Corruption _is_ far too strong a word, but it’s close enough, and Blaine knows it. 

Kurt says nothing, so Blaine laughs again, as if it’s an admission that he’s won. “Anyway, not that that night wasn’t wonderful and absolutely perfect, but I was kind of hoping tonight would end a little differently.” 

“Do tell,” Kurt replies, amazed when his voice comes out calm and evenly, because Blaine’s back to nuzzling at his jaw. 

“I, uh - when I was moving some of my stuff into the nightstand, I saw the box of condoms.” Kurt’s had them a while, since last spring when he started dating seriously, but he hasn’t really considered using them with anyone but Blaine. 

“Say it,” Kurt murmurs quietly against Blaine’s cheek, and the words are out of his mouth as quick as can be, no hesitation behind them at all. “I want you to fuck me,” he whispers back, and Kurt didn’t expect him to use that word - he’s never heard Blaine utter a single curse word _ever_ , and he’s shocked how much his stomach twists up at the sound of it rasping in his ear, how his breath hitches at the utterance of it. “I -” he starts to say, as if he didn’t expect himself to use that word either, but Kurt cuts him off, kissing him hungrily and trying to guide them to the bed.

They’ve done this enough times that it’s easy, but everything’s still a little unexpected. Kurt can’t predict Blaine’s moves, and there’s still new spots uncovered, both good and bad, like the spot on Blaine’s shoulder where he’s too ticklish for Kurt to spend too much time on, or the spot underneath Kurt’s hipbone that drives him crazy. Since there’s no worry of Rachel or Quinn coming home, there’s no underlying sense of urgency. They take their time memorizing each line and curve on each other’s body with lips and hands, soft touches that lead to so much more, and finally, Kurt searches in the rumpled sheets for the lube he grabbed earlier when he grabbed the condoms and Blaine whines out when he realizes. 

“Hey,” he whispers, kissing Blaine quickly, because there’s something he wants to ask, something he wants to try, and he doesn’t want to catch Blaine off guard. “Is it okay if instead of using just my fingers, I use my mouth too? I’ve always wanted to try that.”

Blaine blinks darkly back at Kurt before saying, “That’s something people do?” Kurt’s mouth drops open, wanting to tell him they don’t have to, but Blaine’s too quick for him. “I mean - _yes, of course_ , Kurt that’s - yeah.” Kurt ducks and grins, asking Blaine to roll over on his side. He uses his palms to spread Blaine’s cheeks, biting back a groan at the sight he wasn’t afforded the last time they did this. He has no clue what he’s doing, but there’s no need to vocalize that, nosing his way closer to drop a kiss at the dimples of Blaine’s back, and then lower, lower, until he’s reached the top of Blaine’s crack.

He breathes out a bit harshly, and he’s close enough that the air tickles over Blaine’s skin, who shivers underneath it. A bit of panic sets in before Kurt tells himself to cool it, that he’s with Blaine and he’s doing the same exact thing he did with his fingers, only with his tongue, and Blaine said yes, rather enthusiastically, he might add - he’s not going to freak out. He starts off exactly the same even, figuring it’s as good a start as any, trailing his tongue straight down the crack of Blaine’s ass and back up again. He hears Blaine breathe out _oh, oh, oh_ , his head turned on its side into the pillows, so see? Nothing to worry about.

Kurt traces his tongue around the rim of Blaine’s entrance in slow, languid circles, the heady taste finally hitting him and leaving him wanting more. He hears Blaine’s ragged breathing above him as he continues, stroking against him with firmer licks of his tongue. Things probably would be easier with Blaine on his stomach instead of his side, but Kurt can see Blaine’s profile when he looks up, even more of his face showing when he turns away from the pillows, and that makes everything worth it. 

Kurt presses gently at his entrance with the tip of his tongue, just for a second before drawing circles with it once more, but Blaine begs, his voice low and quick, “Kurt, Kurt, do that again.” He does, pressing more firmly this time, and folding his tongue just so, just so a little bit slips _inside_ , and Kurt groans at how much stronger Blaine tastes, how tight he feels around his tongue, how _turned on he is right now because of it all_. “ _Oh. Ohhhh, Kurt,_ ” Blaine cries out, and Kurt pulls back momentarily to try again, to try to make it even better. There’s spit all over his chin from being pressed up against Blaine’s crack, from where it’s been dripping down, but he doesn’t care, folding his tongue again, delving deeper this time, and Blaine whimpers above him. 

He keeps at it, slowly fucking his tongue in and out of Blaine, feeling his muscles relax and contract around him, and finally, Blaine whines, “Kurt - you - you should stop - because - _that’s really good_.” Kurt’s been in such a zone, focusing on what’s right in front of him, he didn’t realize how Blaine started touching himself, fisting slowly at his cock, the tip shining already, and yeah, they should get on with things.

“I’m glad you think so,” Kurt whispers against Blaine’s asscheek as he pulls away, letting his own erection brush over his other one as he reaches up the bed for the lube, just so Blaine knows how much it turned him on too. Blaine whines his name again at the contact, and Kurt’s so torn, because he knows they have to go slow, but god, he wants to be inside him _right now_. He wants to know how it feels, how Blaine will feel around him in the closest way possible. 

One finger slides in easily thanks to his tongue, so he slips in a second and hears Blaine sigh with relief. It looks like he feels the same way Kurt does. He waits until both fingers aren’t met with resistance anymore before working in a third, and finally, Kurt asks, “Do you want to - should we stay like this?”

“Yeah, that’s - just - _please_ ,” Blaine breathes out, and Kurt grabs one of the condoms. He fumbles a little bit, and Blaine laughs, light and breathy. Kurt huffs back, “Shush, you weren’t supposed to see that.”

Blaine stops laughing and whispers, “I love you,” winding his left hand back towards Kurt. Kurt twines his own left hand with it, threading their fingers together and repeating the phrase. Their hands stay together as Kurt lines his cock up with his right hand, as they both gasp as the head presses in slowly, as Kurt kisses and licks at the nape of Blaine’s neck to distract him. Blaine’s so impossibly tight around him, Kurt has no idea how he’s not hurting Blaine. Blaine’s hand grips his tighter, and Kurt stills his hips when his cock is about halfway in, murmuring Blaine’s name against his ear, needing to know he’s okay. 

“You’re just - _huge_ ,” Blaine blurts out. Kurt knows he’s not really, but compared to his fingers, it must seem that way, and his chuckle tickles Blaine’s neck. “You can - you can -”

“More?” he whispers, and Blaine nods, so he continues working his cock in slowly, little by little, trying so hard to be patient when his body is telling him otherwise. Blaine feels so amazing around him and his hips keep wanting to twitch forward and thrust further inside. He finally bottoms out, his hand still gripping Blaine’s tightly, and Blaine turns his head backwards, glancing towards Kurt. Their eyes meet and lock and it’s almost too much, because Blaine is actually everywhere - warm and wet and tight around him, Blaine’s eyes pouring into his soul, his back pressed tight up against Kurt’s chest, and Kurt’s overwhelmed at all the sensations hitting him at once. 

Kurt’s hips finally give out, stuttering and grinding shakily against Blaine’s ass, but Blaine just grunts and grinds his own hips back towards him. Kurt lets go of Blaine’s sweaty palm (not that his is any better), gripping his waist instead and starting to shallowly thrust. Blaine’s started to relax around him, but he’s still so tight, and the friction from the slow drag of his cock in and out of Blaine is driving him crazy, pulling everything within him tighter and tighter. Kurt knows their first time won’t last forever, but he tries to draw it out, tucking his face against the crease of Blaine’s shoulder and neck, rolling his hips in slow circles as Blaine gasps beside him. Blaine tilts his head backwards again, trying to reach and kiss him, and their lips meet messily and off center, better in idea than in actual practice. 

“K-Kurt, I - I’m so -” Blaine gasps, and Kurt noses his way to whisper harshly in his ear. “You - you should touch yourself. Like you were before, th-that was _so hot_.” Kurt begins to thrust again, just as Blaine wraps a hand around his dick, Kurt groaning at the sight. He didn’t get to _watch_ before, but the fact that Blaine’s fisting at his cock while Kurt’s pounding into him is a giant turn on. He’s trying to stave off his impending orgasm because he _really_ wants Blaine to come first, wants to feel his body clenching around him before sending him over the edge. 

He doesn’t have to wait long before Blaine does, Blaine reaching back for Kurt’s hand again with the hand not wrapped around his cock just before it hits. Their hands grip together, Blaine squeezing hard just as his body spasms in pleasure, his head thrown back against the pillows, and everything feels so good for Kurt as well, he can’t even wait until Blaine’s done before his own orgasm takes over. He’s holding onto Blaine’s hand far harder than he should, he realizes once his head clears, and loosens his grip, laughing lightly against the top of Blaine’s shoulder. 

“Mmmm,” Blaine sighs happily, nuzzling against Kurt’s cheek. They lay in silence for a while, and Kurt thinks Blaine even drifts off from the way he jolts abruptly some time later, but Kurt’s lost in thought. Thinking of all of their moments together, from their bumbling first meetings and kisses that were not and broken toes and meddling friends and brothers to tentative first kisses that _were_ and slightly embarrassing moments and first snowfalls to something more and newfound love to _this_ … whatever this is.

Kurt’s not entirely sure, but it _seems_ like more, and he’s sure there’s even more ahead.

He’s ready for it.

***

Weeks later, they’re settling into their new routine almost perfectly. Kurt usually doesn’t wait for Blaine anymore, unless he has a legitimate excuse to work late, heading home whenever he’s done for the day and waiting for Blaine at home. He usually gets dinner started once Blaine calls on his way to the train so everything is ready for them to eat together, spending their weekday nights in total domesticity but loving every moment of it. Weekends, they go out with Quinn and Rachel, and even make it to Callbacks finally, and one Friday night, Kurt brings Blaine to a Vogue event where he meets Isabelle, where he gets the fairy godmother seal of approval. 

They go shopping one weekend for a desk for Blaine to actually turn Rachel’s old space into an office, moving Kurt’s desk in there as well and picking up some more bookcases. Kurt’s happy with how everything turned out since Blaine wasn’t around to decorate the apartment with him, it’s as if they’ve put their own spin on things together. One afternoon, he drops his work things off at his desk when he notices a legal pad sitting on the top of Blaine’s desk that wasn’t there that morning. 

He almost walks away without looking, but then he spies _NYC Affirmations Take 2_ at the top, and Blaine wouldn’t have left it out if he hadn’t wanted him to see, right? He knows Kurt comes in here every afternoon to get rid of his things and would walk right past it.

He picks up [the legal pad](http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcrvxxcfXj1qiadqt.jpg) and looks at the top of the list. Some of the things have been moved over, only reworded, like _figure out a purposeful career_ as well as new things like _find the right college and attend_. Kurt doesn’t have his own section anymore, but he’s definitely there. _Start each day with love_ and _never go to bed angry_ (the first - and only - time they quibbled since Blaine moved in was just over a silly mix up in routines after a long day for both of them, who was supposed to do what, and they definitely did _not_ go to bed angry). 

There’s a tiny _a work in progress … just like me :)_ written in the corner and Kurt grins, running his fingers over Blaine’s writing. He debates what to do for a second, going back and forth on whether or not to add anything or not, and then decides why not, scribbling his own affirmation for Blaine down a few lines as to not interfere with anything else he’s going to add himself and setting the pad of paper back on his desk. 

After that, Kurt goes about the rest of his afternoon. He and Blaine eat dinner when he gets home and they snuggle in the bed together catching up on ‘Face Off.’ Kurt forgets about waiting for Blaine to find his little note, and it isn’t until they’re getting ready for bed, both leaving the bathroom after having brushed their teeth, the list catches his eye, no longer sitting on Blaine’s desk, but taped up over it. 

He walks over to the office to take a better look, and Blaine comes up behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and hooking his head over his shoulder. “I thought they’d be better reminders if they were someplace I could see them all the time. What you tacked on is perfect.”

Kurt reads over the words one more time. _Always remember that you are loved._

He thinks that’s a good thing for both of them to remember. 

***

[New York Affirmations One](http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcrw1nvvSR1qiadqt.jpg) & [New York Affirmations Two](http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcrvxxcfXj1qiadqt.jpg)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! Excuse me while I get all verklempt. Thanks for spending this hiatus with me during my form of fluff therapy, hopefully it helped some of y'all too ;) That's the only way I can explain 50k in a month while also being sick is fluff therapy. So much for NaNo this year. I also am NEVER this cheesy-schoompy-fluffy with my endings, but again, blame the fluff therapy, and for these boys, it works. Thank you, thank you, thank you again for all of your kind words if I've somehow missed you, you all truly are the best ♥

_Five years later_

Kurt peeks out over the balcony for a moment, delighting in the fact that no one can see him. The space below him is filling up nicely, all of his and Blaine’s family and friends taking seats and chatting animatedly. He sees his coworkers from Vogue, and if they bitched about coming out to Brooklyn from Manhattan, it seems to have subsided. Even though Kurt and Blaine live in Manhattan now, when they were looking for a place to get married, they came across this space in their hunt and it just felt perfect the instant they walked in. 

The space had been converted from an old church to something a bit more stylish and updated, and it was in their old neighborhood, even. Kurt’s not sure how they missed it all those years living in the loft. It seemed perfect to get married in Bushwick where they first met, where they first fell in love, where they shared their first _everything_ together. 

“Thought I might find you here.” Blaine’s voice breaks through his concentration, and he turns to see his husband-to-be standing in the wings, looking exquisite in his suit and tie. 

Kurt’s voice catches in his throat, and he’s about to find the right words to say when he hears another booming voice behind him. “My brothers!”

Cooper. Of course. Well, it’s a better greeting than _squirt and the bean sprout_ , which has been his standard over the years (and Kurt has never quite understood). Ever since they announced they were getting married, Kurt has been an honorary brother, and he figures he should be thankful. 

“So, I wanted to run a few things by you two,” he starts, clapping them both on the shoulder, and Kurt shoots Blaine a worried look, because no, they talked about this. They talked about how Cooper was to be as uninvolved as possible, how they distracted him with planning the coed bachelor party for a reason (aside from the fact they knew he wouldn’t book strippers like Rachel would). “I know you decided on a civil ceremony, but I still think there’s room for a little blessing somewhere in the middle, and I know I’m not a minister anymore, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t forgotten how to say a really solid prayer …”

Kurt’s eyes must be bugging out of his head, because Blaine reaches over and grips his hand comfortingly before trying to redirect his brother. “Cooper, that’s … all very nice of you, but really, we’ve got it all under control, we’ve actually already asked Quinn -”

As if on cue, Quinn walks up the stairs to the balcony, sighing exasperatedly at the sight of them. “ _There_ you are, I’ve been looking all over for you. I told you not to bother Kurt and Blaine! They have enough to worry about!” She walks over, looping her arm through Cooper’s and smiling apologetically at both of them, mouthing a simple _sorry_. 

“It’s - it’s fine,” Blaine says quickly. “I was just telling Coop you have the whole reading thing covered and we _definitely_ don’t need another one. Even though we _really, really appreciate it_.” He emphasizes each word to Cooper, hoping he takes the hint. Cooper left CNT over a year ago, and with the help of Quinn as his publicist, is now a mildly successful motivational speaker. This hasn’t changed the fact that he still has to make everything revolve around him. 

“Let your girlfriend handle this one, Cooper,” Kurt says with a smile and a pat to his shoulder, before Quinn winks at them and leads him down the stairs, muttering to her. 

“And now it’s just us again,” Blaine says, his smile so bright, Kurt has to match it. 

“Not for long,” Kurt points out, and he’s right, because below them is all of their family and friends, people who have traveled from their old lives in Ohio and California and other friends they’ve made along the way to join in this day with them, along with Kurt’s coworkers and Blaine’s colleagues from school, where he’s pursuing a masters in Music Therapy. If he can’t help heal people’s souls with music anymore, he can help heal their bodies and minds. 

Blaine’s parents aren’t out there. He hasn’t spoken to his dad in the six and a half years since he’s been gone, and his relationship with his mother is strained, at best, only picking back up after Cooper left the station. But there’s hope - there’s always hope.

“Did you ever think we’d be here one day? When you came down to help us with our luggage?” Blaine asks, still grinning, and Kurt bursts out laughing. “What?” he asks cautiously, and Kurt wonders if he should tell him.

“Rachel and I spent all morning objectifying you from the window in the loft before we came down to help. So, _no_ I can’t say this was my first thought when I saw you.” Blaine’s eyes twinkle and his head drops to Kurt’s shoulder as he chuckles himself. “But then,” Kurt continues, growing a bit more serious. “But then, I got to know you, and I learned what a kind and generous and wonderful person you are. I may have been instantly attracted to you, but I fell in love with your mind and your soul and your heart and I’m going to go out there in front of eighty-six of the nearest and dearest people to us and tell them all of that today.”

“ _Kurt_ ,” Blaine says, his voice thick with emotion, and Kurt wraps his arms around Blaine’s neck to bring their lips together, and they’re lost in the moment for a bit before they hear Quinn on the stairs again clearing her throat.

Thirty minutes later, after Kurt and Blaine have professed their love for one another, Quinn clears her throat once more, standing in front of them as the justice of the peace steps aside and lets her have the floor. “Hello everyone,” she says calmly. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Quinn, Blaine’s best friend, and he and Kurt have asked me to say a quick prayer because it was deemed I would be the person to make the rest of you who aren’t religious least uncomfortable -” Kurt hears a scoff from the crowd that he knows is Cooper’s, and Quinn stares at him, actually going as far to point at him with his signature move, grinning widely, and there’s a smattering of laughter from the crowd. 

“Anyway, before I do, I want to share a little story that has nothing to do with religion, really, and would probably be better left for the reception, but I wasn’t sure if I’d get a microphone again.” She’s still grinning, this time at Blaine and Kurt, and the two exchange a glance. They really weren’t going to let people make toasts at the reception, because between Cooper and Rachel after a few glasses of champagne, things would get a bit long winded and over-emotional. 

“B and I moved in right next door to Kurt and Rachel when we first got to the city, in this very neighborhood of Bushwick, and to say we were a bit sheltered - well, that might be an understatement. One of Kurt and Rachel’s favorite things to do on nights we stayed in is make us watch movies we might have missed during our time in California, and they’re going to hate me for outing them on this, but I remember one night vividly when we were all curled up on our futon with blankets and cartons of ice cream, watching ‘The Notebook’ and _sobbing_.” 

The crowd starts laughing again, and Quinn feels the need to defend them all apparently. Kurt’s pretty sure he’s turning five shades of red, and he looks over at Blaine who is shaking his head in amusement. “Hey, we had no idea who Nicholas Sparks was! We weren’t prepared! But the point I’m getting at here is I was doing a little research for the prayer I wanted to use today, and somehow this quote from the movie popped up in Google. _The best love is the kind that awakens the soul, that makes us reach for more, that plants fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds._ The second I read it, I was reminded not only of that night, but of these two lovely individuals who stand before us today.”

The embarrassment starts to fade, and the corners of Kurt’s lips start to curl up, Blaine glancing over at him adoringly and smiling himself. “I have been fortunate enough to watch Kurt and Blaine’s relationship blossom and grow, and I don’t know if there are two people in my life better suited for each other. When they’re around each other, I can truly see the calming presence each other brings just by being in each other’s company, as well as the fire they light within each other, and I think _everyone_ should strive to have a love like yours.” 

Quinn starts to get choked up at the end, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue and laughing lightly. “Oh, I said I wouldn’t cry. I love you both very much, and I should just get on with it.”

Kurt looks over at Blaine, offering him a soft smile, trying not to let the emotion get to him either, and reaches for his hand, lacing their fingers together. Quinn takes a deep breath, smiling at them one last time. 

“Let us pray.”


End file.
